


Stuffies and Salt Rings

by MaxMattel666



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cute, Destiel - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Pre-Slash, Witches, bigbrother!Dean, deaged!sam, human!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-04-26 08:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4998169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxMattel666/pseuds/MaxMattel666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after 9.06. Instead of leaving Cas, Dean brings him back to the bunker. Cas is adjusting to life as a human, and Sam's recovering from the trails. Sick of the angels, Dean suggests that Sam and him go on what they think will be an easy hunt, tracking down a witch. Things don't go as planned and Sam gets turned back into toddler. De-aged Sam fic plus some destiel too. Lots of domestic fluff and really just a feel good fic. Enjoy! xoxo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Impala rolled up the dirt path to the bunker; the road was still wet from the previous night’s rainfall. “Home sweet home, huh Cas?” Dean interjected, breaking the silence. “Yeah,” Cas said, his voice just louder than a whisper. Castiel was still trying to get used to being human. He was cold, but he didn’t want to tell Dean. Cas felt hungry, he felt tired, and he felt sore.  
Dean pulled up right next to entrance and pulled his keys out of the ignition. He got up and out of the car, and motioned for Cas to follow him. “Dean?” the former angel asked, “will Sam be okay with me here?” Oh shit. Dean had forgotten. That had been the reason he had told Cas to leave in the first place. “Yeah Cas, Sam’s doing better.” Dean forced a smile. In reality, he had no idea if Sam had been doing better on not, with Ezekiel still hanging around inside of his brother and all.  
Cas could pick up on the uneasiness of Dean’s response but he was too cold and too hungry to attempt to over-analyze the hunter right now anyways. Dean pulled out the bunker keys from his jacket pocket and unlocked the door for the two of them. Cas followed him in, glad when the warm air of the bunker rushed against his face.  
“Hey Sammy!” Dean called out into the vastness of the bunker. Sam stumbled out of the hallway, still in his pajamas. “Dean?” Sam’s hair was tangled and messy, he looked like he had just gotten out of bed. “Sorry to wake you man, but it is 11am. How ya feeling?” Dean asked, setting his bag down on the table. Sam rubbed his eyes and looked up at the two men standing in front of him. “Cas?!” Sam’s eyes lit up a little bit at the sight of his friend. “Hey!” Sam pulled Cas in for a hug. The former angel stiffened up a little bit at first before realizing that he was supposed to squeeze back. “Hello Sam, how are you feeling?” Cas pulled back and looked up at the sleepy hunter before him.  
“I’ve been better haha,” Sam half laughed, half yawned. “Where have you been man?” Sam questioned, pushing his hair behind his ears. Cas looks over to Dean, wishing that Dean would just explain so that he wouldn’t have to. Almost like how a kid looks over at their mom when the doctor asks what’s wrong.  
“I umm, I’ve been working at a mini-mart, near a gas station. I’m human now, as you know.” Cas looked down at his shoes once he had finished speaking, as if admitting some kind of guilt.  
“Hey umm, I’m gonna get us some food, okay?” Dean interjected, gesturing towards the kitchen. “Hey Dean?” Cas quietly called out, “Yeah?” The hunter replied. “I like peanut butter.”  
This made Dean smile. Of course Cas would like peanut butter, just like Sam did. “Okay then, some peanut butter sandwiches coming right up.” Sam smiled, his little family was finally back together again.  
“Cas? Do you want to change, or shower or anything? I’m probably gonna get changed too.” Cas smiled softly, looking up at the tall hunter.  
“Yes please.” He followed Sam down the hall, where he showed Cas around a little bit, where bedrooms were, and the bathrooms. Sam gestured to one of the many bathrooms, “Here, use this one. You can use the room to the right. I’ll bring some shampoo and soap and stuff. We’ll go on a run to the store to get some more stuff.” Cas looked around the bathroom and then back at Sam.  
“Thank you,” Cas replied, “for everything.” Sam just smiled, “Of course, we’re glad to have you back.” With that, Sam stepped out and went back to his own room to grab the things for Cas. The former angel had barely sat turned on the shower before Sam had come back, arms full of soap and other toiletries. Castiel thanked him again, and Sam left to go get changed.  
When Cas finally emerged from the shower, there was a change of clothes set out on his bed, with a note on top. “These are Dean’s, I thought mine might be a little too big.” This made Cas chuckle. He dried himself off and went to put the change of clothes on. Boxers, worn in blue jeans, a white undershirt and of course, a flannel. The long sleeve shirt was soft to the touch, a dark green color.  
Once Cas was dressed, he wandered back into the open area, whatever it may have been called where the table was; that wasn’t quite a dining room. When he entered, both hunters turned around. Sam gave a little smile and Dean’s eyes widened. Cas’s hair was still a little wet, but he was freshly shaven. The jeans hung a little too low on his hips due to the lack of a belt, the green flannel’s sleeves were too long and covered his hands.  
“You look like a hunter now, huh?” Sam said, motioning for Cas to come sit down at the table with them. Cas smiled, but his eyes went straight to the sandwich in front of him. By the time Cas pulled his seat out, Sam had already stuffed a huge bite of his peanut butter banana sandwich into his own mouth.  
“I umm, I didn’t know if you’d like peanut butter and banana so I made you peanut butter and honey. Cause umm, you like bees.” Cas laughed a little at this, oh right, the bees. “Thank you Dean,” he smiled and took a bite of his sandwich. Mouth full, the former angel went on. “this is really good! I was so hungry..” He only trailed off to take another bite. Sam took a sip of his beer before speaking up, “So guys, get this. I think I might have found us a case.” The hunter picks up his laptop from the other end of the table and opens it.  
“You sure you want to hunt Sam? I mean, do you feel okay and everything?” Dean asked, worriedly. Sam fiddled around with some of the tabs on his computer before replying.  
“Yeah, yeah. It looks pretty easy. A low-level witch is my guess; nothing that we can’t handle.” Sam turned the computer around to show them the article he has pulled up. Dean groaned, “Man I hate witches. Always spilling gross fluids everywhere, yuck…” He grimaced and made a little face.  
“Look, it’s only a two hour drive away. This dude, Mark Stevens, it says here that all of his teeth fell out of his head, and that his eyes turned to jelly. Look, it’s not a big case. I just, I don’t want to stay in the bunker any longer. Please Dean?”  
The eldest brother took a swig of his own beer, he was going to regret this.  
“Yeah sure, fine. But I hate witches man.” Cas hadn’t interjected into the conversation at all because his mouth had been full of peanut butter, honey and bread, but now there weren’t even crumbs left on his plate. “May I accompany you on the hunt?” he asked. Dean laughed a little bit, “Cas, you’re human now, okay? We wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” Cas looked down at his hands, and twiddled his fingers a little. “I can be helpful, watch your backs. If it’s as easy as Sam says that it is, I don’t see why I shouldn’t go. All we have to do is find the witch, and kill her.”  
Dean shrugged, how bad could it really be? It was like as if they were to take Cas on an easy salt and burn run. No big deal. “Yeah sure Cas, you can come too. Sammy, grab your stuff, we’ll head out in an hour.”  
The drive over was quiet. Dean played some Metallica over the stereo, but softly enough for Sam to fall asleep against the window. Dean looked up into the rear-view mirror.  
“How ya holding up back there, Cas?” He asked after glancing over at a sleeping Sam. “I am alright Dean. I am glad that you are letting me accompany you and Sam on this hunt. I promise I will be useful.” Dean smiled and laughed, shaking his head.  
“I know man, you’ll do fine.” Cas sat back, his shoulders slouching down in relief. “Dean?” The former angel interjected, “is Sam alright? After the trials… he is doing better, correct?” Cas had furrowed his brow and cocked his head, Cas’s usual body language whenever he didn’t quite understand something. Dean swallowed, remembering that Ezekiel was still holed up inside his little brother. “Yeah,” Dean started cautiously, “Sammy’s doing alright. He’s getting back to his old self; he’ll be good as new soon. We just have to help him along I guess. That’s why I said we could all go on this hunt. It’ll be good for Sam. Ease him back into things slowly.” Cas nodded, he understood what Dean meant. Cas too was trying to find himself again; Sam and him were kind of in the same boat.  
The rest of the ride was silent. But it was the comfortable kind of silence; not the kind where every moment you feel like you need to say something just to fill the empty space. Comfortable silence.  
Dean pulled into a motel parking lot not too long afterwards. He nudged Sam’s shoulder gently, “Wake up buddy, we’re here.” Sam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and pushed his hair back behind his ears.  
“Already?” The hunter yawned. Dean went to get out of the car; Cas followed Dean’s motions after retrieving his own duffle bag from the back seat. Sam and Cas followed Dean up to the front desk.  
“Hello, welcome to The Pinewood Motel, how may I help you?” The young girl at the front desk asked as she shuffled some papers around. She has shoulder-length curly black hair and hazel eyes. She was short in comparison to the two hunters and ex-angel. Her blue shirt bore the motel logo, and what appeared to be strawberry jam stains. Dean pulled out his wallet and set it on the desk, “Any rooms that will fit three?” He looked back and Sam and Cas; Sam was looking through his phone and Cas gave him an awkward half-smile. “We’re here on business,” Dean states, pulling out his fake state trooper ID cards. “So,” he looks down at the hostess’s nametag, “Ellie, any rooms for three?” Dean flashed that smile of his and the young girl’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah, umm” she began to reply, “I have a room with two twins and a pull out couch. Will that be okay?” She smiled up at the three men, hoping that she had been helpful. “Perfect,” Dean said, as Ellie handed him the key. The three men turned to leave the check out desk, “Room 223! Enjoy your stay!” the hostess called out, waving at Dean.  
Dean handed the keys over to Sam who unlocked their room. It wasn’t too bad. It didn’t smell weird and the beds looked clean.  
“I’ll take the couch,” Dean volunteered, setting his stuff down on its cushions. Cas raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? I can sleep on the couch,” The ex-angel offered. Dean looked up and smiled at his friend, “Yeah Cas, I’ll be okay. I only need four hours as is. And there’s no way gigantor over there can fit on his couch,” He joked, gesturing over to Sam, who was yawning; obviously still sleepy from the brief nap that he had taken during the car ride. Sam smiled softly after he had finished yawning, “Thanks Dean.”  
Cas went over to the bed closest to the door. Dean usually slept closest to the door, out of habit. Sam always slept closest to the window. As Dean had explained it to Cas (when he was still an angel) that Dean had picked up the routine when they were little. Because if anything ever tried to come in, they’d have to go through Dean before they could get to Sam. Cas smiled to himself over the fondness of the memory.  
Sam had sat down cross-legged on his bed, already looking through his laptop. “Okay guys, so this guy Mark, it says here” Sam pointed to the news article on his screen, “that all of his teeth pretty much jumped out of his head and his eyes blew out too.” Dean grimaced; witches. Gross.  
“It also says that this guy was married. I say we track down this guy’s wife and see if she’ll talk.” Dean nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Get changed into your fed threads and we’ll head out.” Each of the men started rummaging through their bags for their suits. Once they had all gotten changed, ‘team free will’ set out for the wife of the victim’s house.  
It was a short drive from their hotel, maybe fifteen minutes. As they pulled up to the house, they noticed a cop car pulling out of the driveway. Dean led them up to the door, and knocked. A woman answered the door. Her eyes were red and she was wiping her cheek off with the palm of her hand. “I’m sorry, this isn’t really a good time...” The woman went on to say. Sam lowered his head a little bit, to try to make his build seem less intimidating, “We’re very sorry for your loss Mrs. Stevens. This would only take a few short minutes,” Sam pulled out his fake FBI agent ID, “if you would be so kind as to speak with us for a short while.” Upon seeing the ID, the woman stood up a little bit taller and sniffled. Dean then went on to introduce them, “I’m agent Hendrix, this is agent Morrison, and agent Anthony.”  
“Oh, alright. Come on in.” Mrs. Stevens said, beckoning them inside. They three men followed the grieving widow into her living room. The room was decorated in a traditional fashion, but looked comfortable and lived in. There were wedding pictures on the mantle and fishing awards nailed up on the wall. “I already talked to the cops,” Mrs. Stevens explained.  
“We know ma’am. We were just sent to come check things out.” The woman’s face twisted in confusion. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Check what out?” She inquired. Cas, who was standing next to the couch instead of sitting down piped in before either Sam or Dean could answer. “We have reason to believe that your husband was poisoned.” Dean’s eyes shot straight up to Cas’s face. Poisoned? “I guess, I guess that would kind of explain what happened to him…” Mrs. Stevens replied, her words trailing off. “You see, this umm, this has happened before. A few towns over, but recently enough. The FBI thinks there may be an individual attacking people at random, testing poisons out on them.” Dean’s eyes jutted over to Sam. He knew his brother was a good liar but he just rolled with it. That’s when Dean finally decided to chime in, “Mrs. Stevens, is there any reason someone may have wanted to hurt your husband?” The widow frowned at the hunters’ question. “No. Mark has plenty of friends, lots of them too. He was always real friendly with the guys at work. My family never liked him much though. But we don’t talk much anymore.” Sam looked over at Dean, giving him the ‘okay’ look, which meant to keep going. Sam had always been better at reading people than Dean was. “Your family, Mrs. Stevens? Your husband Mark and they, didn’t get on too well?” He folded his hands in his lap and smiled. Typical case, he thought to himself. It would be easy. It would be good for everybody. Dean just had to keep reminding himself of that, instead of worrying too much over newly human Cas and still-healing Sam.  
“Yeah,” Mrs. Stevens started to say, glancing over at a picture of her and her late husband that was placed on the coffee table. She sighed, “my family, they wanted me to marry someone more successful. Mark was a humble guy, had lots of friends. He didn’t care about money much. My sister, she was the one who hated him most. We used to be really close before I married Mark. Once him and I got married, she stopped talking to me. I miss her a lot. We were best friends.” More tears started to well up in Mrs. Steven’s eyes, her face now splotchy and red.  
“Would you happen to have the current address of your sister?” Cas interjection. Mrs. Stevens looked up at him, and shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Yeah, umm I think so. Why, why would you want my sisters address, we haven’t spoken in years.” Dean had begun to rummage through his suit pocket for a pen and small pad of paper when Sam intervened. “We, um, we just want to make sure that the cops have informed her of your husbands passing. Families can help each other through times of need.” Cas looked down at the two hunters, family really did get through everything. Mrs. Stevens only replied with a soft, “Oh.” Before taking the pen and paper from Dean’s outstretched hand. She quickly scribbled down the address and handed the paper back to Dean, who folded it up and returned it to his suit pocket.  
“Thank you for your time ma’am.” Dean said smiling, “We best be on our way.” Mrs. Stevens gave a week smile, “Have a nice day agents.”  
Sam and Castiel followed Dean back to the impala and got into their respective seats. “Nice, quick thinking back there, Cas,” Sam commented, smiling into the rear view mirror. The former angel returned the smile, “Thank you Sam. I hope that I am being of use.” Dean put the keys into the ignition, started Baby’s engine and started headed for their next destination. 

Thankfully Mrs. Steven’s sister still lived in the same town, just a half an hour drive over to the other side of town. On the way over, the newly reformed team discussed possible theories about the case. They all had agreed that Mrs. Stevens’ sister was most likely their witch. She was the only one who seemed to have a motive to kill off Mark.  
Dean parked the impala across the street from the house. From where they were parked, the house looked completely normal, except for one little detail; all of the window blinds were closed. Sam pointed out the oddity to Cas, who still didn’t quite understand typical housing customs. Sam and Dean both already had their guns tucked into their waistbands, but Dean went around back to the trunk to grab a gun for Cas. He handed the metal object to his friend, “Dean, I’m not very familiar with the usage of guns…” Cas sounded nervous, but took the gun anyways. “It’s okay Cas,” Dean assured him, “it’s not too tricky. If something comes after you, pull the trigger. There’s some top-notch witch-killing juice in those bullets. Made ‘em myself.” Dean laughed to himself and patted Cas on the shoulder.  
“Alright, here’s the plan. We go in, talk to her. Try to scope the place out a bit. If she’s our witch, we’ll come back tonight and get her.” Sam declared confidently. He always was good at plans. Dean nodded and so did Cas; who was trying to follow Dean’s lead. The three friends walked across the street and up to the house. “May I ring the door bell?” Cas asked innocently, looking up at Sam for approval. The two brothers both chuckled, “Go ahead buddy.” Sam told him. Castiel smiled and pressed the button, “I’ve always wanted to do that.” He confessed. The door swung open, revealing a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Mrs. Stevens. She had light brown hair, dark eyes and an athletic build.  
Sam and Dean both pulled out their fake IDs, Cas then followed suit, trying to keep up with the two hunters.  
“Cynthia Johnson? Hi, I’m agent Hendrix, these are my partners agent Anthony and agent Morrison.” Dean said, introducing himself and his counterparts. “May we have a moment of your time?” The woman cocked an eyebrow and ushered the three inside her house, wordlessly. Sam, Dean and Cas put their badges back into their suit pockets and walked inside. The woman shut the door behind her and stood with her arms crossed. She didn’t lead them into the living room or her kitchen; something was off.  
“What is this about…” she looked Sam up and down, “agents?”  
“You are the sister of Debbie Stevens?” Dean questioned. Cynthia’s arms uncrossed at the mention of her sisters name. “Yes,” she replied. “Did, umm, did something happen to Mark?” Dean quickly turned to Sam and gave him the ‘this is the one’ look.  
“Ma’am, I didn’t mentioned anything about your sisters husband.” The woman’s eyes widened, realizing what she said. In the blink of an eye, she took of running up the stairs. “Sam! Go!” Dean shouted, pointing towards the upstairs. “Cas, you stay by the door.” Dean ran up the stairs after Sam, gun in hand.  
For a small woman, she sure was fast. Sam had managed to follow her into what appeared to be her bedroom. Sam did his best to keep up, but he kept stumbling over her shaggy carpet.  
Once Sam entered the room it became quite clear that she was definitely their witch. There was a dead cat hanging next to the bed. Sam drew his gun but before he could pull the trigger, the witch muttered something too quickly and too quietly for the hunter to hear. Suddenly, a big spinning orb of green light hurled through the air, and hit Sam, square in the chest; knocking him back against the wall. “Sammy!” Dean called out, barging into the bedroom. The witch backed up, and knocked into her nightstand. She tried to start speaking, but Dean’s instincts were too fast for her. She shot her through the head, a clean hit. Her body crumbled and fell to the floor.  
“Sam? Sam!” Dean called out, looking around the room. He was about to step out when he noticed something; a pair of clothes, right up against the wall. They looked like Sam’s… His head started pounding; oh shit oh shit oh shit no no no!  
But then the pile started to move. A pair of big brown eyes popped up out of the Suit jacket and clean pressed shirt. It was… a toddler? The realization then hit Dean; it was Sam. “Arrrrhhhg!” Dean yelled out in frustration, throwing his hands up into the air.  
“Dean?” Cas called out. “Just gimme a minute Cas, okay?” Dean grunted in response. Little Sam was completely swamped by his normal sized clothes. He looked like he could be no more than two or three years old.  
As much as Dean could come across as a hard-ass, he was a big softie. The thing that we was the biggest softie for? His baby brother.  
But now his baby brother was a literal baby. As frustrated as Dean was, he couldn’t help but smile at his brother. For at least the past fifteen years, Sam had been bigger than Dean, and now, Sam was the small one again. Sam looked up at Dean with his ever-present puppy dog eyes. “D-Dee!” He giggled, his mop of brown curls falling across his forehead. Dean bent down and picked Sam up, bundling the now ginormous white shirt around his tiny body. Sam threw his arms around Dean’s neck. The older hunter was trying to make sense of what happened. The witch had hit his brother with a de-aging spell; that much he knew was true. But did Sam remember his adult life? He had tried to say Dean’s name. Then Dean thought back, way back, to their childhood. It had always been his job to take care of Sammy. Their dad had hardly spent any time with Sam when he was little, and even less time with him once Sam had started school. Dean shrugged, so maybe Sam really was little Sammy again. He even sounded like a toddler too; words jumbled and soft.  
Dean hugged Sam close to his chest, “Shhh Sammy, everything’s going to be okay.” He said, smiling down at his brother. He then made his way down the stairs towards the front door, where Cas had been waiting patiently for them. “Dean? Did you kill the witch?” Cas asked as soon as the hunter came into view. But as Dean came closer to the bottom of the staircase, Cas noticed Dean’s arms were full. “Dean? Why do you have a small child? Where is Sam?” Cas cocked his head and raised his eyebrow, classic ex-angel confusion look. Sam turned his head away from Dean’s chest and looked over at Cas, “Daddy!” the toddler exclaimed, reaching an arm out for Cas. Dean’s eyes widened a little in shock but he tried not to show it on his face too much, he didn’t want to overwhelm Cas any more than necessary. “Cas, this is Sammy.” Cas’s face looked more puzzled than ever. “This, this is Sam?” He stepped forward to look at the toddler in Dean’s arms. “Dee!” Sam said again, burying his face into his brothers’ chest. This was going to be interesting to say the least. Dean smiled at the former angel, “Yeah, this is Sam; just little Sam.”


	2. chapter 2

Chapter 2 

“The witch de-aged him before I could get in there. I shot her though.” Dean said, tilting his head so as to gesture up the stairs. Cas’s face softened, “Oh. So what will we do now?” Dean bounced Sam up and down a little in his arms, “I don’t know. Maybe wait a few days? See if the spell reverses on its own? She didn’t seem like a very powerful witch. If he doesn’t turn back into big Sam then we’ll just have to figure it out. Like we always do Cas.”   
The ex angel sighed, “Well, I am glad that he is not hurt. But as you know, the last time I tried to take care of a baby, things did not go smoothly.” Dean laughed, recalling busting in on Cas being attacked while attempting to babysit.   
“Sam was a good kid,” Dean shook his head, “most of the time, at least.” This made Cas smile, feeling a little bit more at ease. “Let’s get out of here, okay? Wouldn’t want to be here when the cops show up.” Cas nodded in agreement and proceeded to follow Dean back out to the Impala. “Oh shit,” Dean said, reaching for the door. “We don’t have a car seat…”   
Cas held his arms out, “Dude, what are you doing?” Dean shot the former angel a strange look, raising one eyebrow. “Hand Sam to me, I will hold him in the back seat. Or I could always drive.” Cas suggested. “You are not driving my baby,” Dean shrugged his shoulders, “alright, just be careful with him, okay? We’ll drive back to the bunker and figure out what to do from there.” Dean started to pull Sam away from his chest. The toddler looked up at his big brother, “Dee, Dee!” He said. “I know kiddo, I’m gonna give you to Cas now, okay? Then we’re going home.” Dean cooed, stroking Sam’s hair. He turned Sam towards Cas and the small child’s face lit up. “Daddy! Daddy!” Sam called out, reaching for Castiel. “Sorry man, I don’t know what’s up with him. He never called out for Dad when we were younger.” Dean said, passing his brother off to Cas. Cas held Sam so gently, cradling him against his side. “It does not bother me, Dean.” Castiel reassured him.   
“Here,” Dean said, as he moved over to the opposite side of the car. “Let me get that for you,” the hunter opened the car door for Cas, who slid into the backseat, Sammy cradled his arms. Dean closed the door, got into the drivers seat and started the car. Cas moved Sam into his lap so that he could pull his seat belt on, and then scooped the toddler back up into his arms. “Hello Sam,” Cas hummed, smiling down at his de-aged friend. “I am Castiel, do you remember me?” Sammy looked up at Cas, who was still holding the toddler on his lap. Sam looked up into Cas’s eyes, and giggled; a high-pitched, sweet laugh. “’oo, oo is silly!” Sammy laughed, reaching up at Cas’s face.   
“Dean?” The former angel groaned. The hunter, who was now stopped at a red light, turned around to look at his friend. Sam had squished Cas’s cheeks with his hands, and was grinning from ear to ear, looking so pleased with himself. Dean snorted, the sight was too hilarious. He had almost forgotten how touchy-feely little Sam was. “Yeah he likes to do that Cas, might as well get used to it. You doing okay back there, Sammy?” Dean asks, patting his brother on the back. The small boy took his hands off of Cas’s face and turned to face Dean, the ex-angels arms still holding him up. “Yeah Dee!” Sam said, smiling widely. “Okay buddy,” Dean affirmed, eyes now back on the road. Sam turned back to Cas, “Daddy, daddy I sleepy,” he yawned. “Would you like to lay down?” Cas asks little Sam politely. He doesn’t really know how to talk to little kids. Sam pulled himself away from Cas’s chest and laid down across the backseat, his head in Cas’s lap. “G’night,” Sam mumbled, he had stuck his thumb in his mouth. Cas rested his hand over Sam’s tiny shoulders; he leaned forward and whispered to Dean, “Is it common for human children to put their fingers in their mouths when they sleep?” Dean shook his head, “It’s a Sammy thing Cas,” the hunter said smiling.  
The car then became silent, the two still-grown men wanted to be quiet so as not to wake Sam. Dean hummed quietly to himself. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed child Sam. Everything has been so much simpler when they were little. Granted their childhood was anything but simple, but compared to what their lives had turned into, it makes Dean’s childhood memories, the few good ones, glow even brighter in his memory.   
Cas had nodded off in the backseat by the time Dean finally pulled up to the bunker. He took the keys out of the ignition and turned around, “alright sleepy heads, we’re here,” Dean whispered, patting Cas’s knee. The former angel rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Hmmm, already?” He hummed, looking down at Sam, who was still asleep. Cas gently stroked the top of Sam’s head, “we are back home, Sam.” Big brown eyes fluttered open, Sam’s tiny arms encircled themselves around Castiel’s left arm. “Okay,” little Sam yawned sleepily, nestling against the crook of Cas’s arm. Cas unbuckled his seat belt and scooped Sam up into his arms. Dean had come around the other side of the car and opened the door for his friend, “Thank you Dean,” Cas said with a smile. Sam was clearly still sleepy, his arms wrapped around Castiel’s neck. Dean had grabbed their bags and led them all into the bunker. Dean set their duffels down on the large table and placed his hands on his hips. “I don’t know what to do Cas,” he said, rubbing his forehead. Cas looked up at Dean, blue eyes scanning the hunter’s face trying to figure out what his friend was feeling, “We’ll figure something out, just like you said, Dean. I’m going to go put Sam in his own bed, then we can talk about this.” Dean nodded, and headed to the fridge to get a beer.   
Cas plodded down the hallway to Sam’s room. The toddler was still wrapped up in his normal clothes, but at least he’d be warm. Castiel laid little Sam down on the bed, and pulled the covers over him. The pillow looked huge under Sam’s head, because now instead of Sam dwarfing his bed, the bed dwarfed him. Castiel smiled, little humans were so funny.   
When Cas came back to the table he was greeted by Dean, who was sitting with his feet up, sipping on a bottle of beer. “Sam’s asleep again,” Cas said, taking a seat across the table from his friend. Dean ran a hand through his hair, “I need to pick up some clothes and stuff for Sam. I’m just gonna get an outfit and pajamas. We can get more stuff tomorrow, is that alright with you? Will you be okay watching Sammy until I get back.” Cas nodded, “Yes, I will manage. Sam does not seem like a fussy child.” Dean smiled, taking another sip of his beer.   
“We’ll all go out together tomorrow morning and get more stuff. We just can’t bring him around in giant t-shirts and no shoes. Look, I’m almost finished with my beer. I’m just gonna run over to a Target or something.” Cas smiled, he missed this Dean. The one who wasn’t so worried about the big bad, the one who liked to cook and watch Dr.Sexy. “Like I said Dean, I will be fine. Your brother will be fine as well. We’ll find a way to change him back.”   
Dean set his now empty beer bottle on the table, grabbed his wallet and got up to leave. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. Hey, do you want me to pick up dinner? I really don’t feel like cooking,” Dean confessed, as he turned to start walking up the stairs. Cas’s eyes flicked up, “Chinese!” he called out.  
The hunter laughed, “Alright, sounds good. I’ll pick some up on my way back. Later Cas,” Dean calls back, before heading out the door. Castiel sighed, and roamed around the bunker trying to find a book to read. Eventually, after eating three granola bars and not finding a single book that wasn’t about the supernatural, Cas decided that he better go check on Sam. The toddler was still curled up under the sheets, his big red flannel bundled around him. Cas noticed a book laying on the desk against the far wall. He walked over and picked it up, the book was titled, The Great Gatsby. Huh, looked interesting enough; Cas thought. He picked the book up, and headed back out to the great room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Cas had taken a seat in a big green chair in the corner of the room. A large bookshelf was behind him, full of books about basically any kind of creature or monster that anyone had ever heard of. Castiel though, didn’t want to think about any more of the bad in the world though. He had witnessed all of his brother and sisters fall from Heaven, because of him. He didn’t need any more reminders about the darkness of the world that he had brought his family down into. So he took a deep breath, and opened the book.   
Meanwhile, Dean had pulled up to the closest Target he could find. He parked baby in the lot and proceeded to head inside, grabbing one of the red carts on his way inside. He didn’t really know where to start, the place was huge. He stood by his cart for a minute, trying to scope out the huge signs that hung from the ceiling. Electronics, kitchen, women’s clothing, kids clothing, awesome! Dean headed over to the kids section, strolling past the other aisles. The store was relatively quiet; it was 4pm in the afternoon anyways. Dean had rarely ever gone to big stores anymore, preferring to shop at goodwill or thrift shops that Sam and him found in the small towns that they often passed through between cases.   
Dean looked around for pajamas first. He didn’t really know what Sam liked, he had always gotten Dean’s hand-me-downs as a kid, as a teen too; that is until Sam grew into a giant and towered over his big brother. He continued to look through the racks until a pair of black and yellow pajamas caught Dean’s eye; they were batman print. Dean smiled, remembering when he was nine and Sammy had been five. Dean had been dressed up as Superman, Sam has been dressed as Batman. Dean had jumped off of the shed that they were playing on and landed perfectly fine- of course! Because he had been dressed as Superman, Sam on the other hand, fell and broke his arm. Dean had to bring Sam to the ER on the handlebars of his bike, he made sure to tease Sam about the fact that Batman couldn’t fly. Dean reminisced in the memory, it was one of the moments from their childhood that Dean could remember as being completely happy, even though it ended up with Sam’s arm in a bright green cast. Dean selected what looked to be current Sam’s size, and set the batman pajamas into the cart. He walked around a few more racks, setting two t-shirts into the cart, and a pair of blue cotton shorts. The first t-shirt donned the power rangers, and the second a batman logo on it, of course. Why not? Dean was nostalgic. On his way over to the shoes, Dean set a small packet of multi-colored socks down into the cart along with a few pairs of small boxers, in with the rest of the clothes that he had picked out for his brothers. His eyes looked over the shoe racks, thank goodness the kids shoes were labeled with ages. Dean found the 2s and 3s, and after walking up and down the aisle at least three times, he settled on a pair of blue and orange sneakers; he hoped that they would fit. Dean turned around and made his way back to the front of the store to check out. He walked past the other vast aisles, beauty products, accessories, furniture, toys. But something on the end of one of the aisles caught his eye. A small stuffed bear. It sat on a shelf amongst rabbits, elephants, and giraffes. The bear was the only one of its kind on the shelf. The instant Dean had seen it, he thought of Sam. The small bear had been sewn out of a plaid fabric, just like the shifts the brothers always wore. Dean picked up the teddy bear and put it in the cart, he knew Sam would love it. Dean walked over to the check out, and opted for the shortest line. The line moved quickly, and Dean was able to get his items up onto the conveyer belt. The cashier was an older women, she smiled up at Dean humbly. “Find everything okay?” she asked, beginning to scan and bag the items.   
“Yeah, thank you,” Dean replied, pulling his wallet out of his jacket pocket.   
“That’ll be $23.17,” she mentioned. The hunter pulled one of his many credit cards out and handed to the cashier woman. She scanned his card without a problem and handed Dean his two bags. “Have a good day sir!” she beamed, and Dean smiled at her. Taking his bags, the hunter went to put his cart back into its’ line and headed out towards the impala. Dean opened the side door and plopped the bags down into the backseat. It was almost 5:20. Then he remembered, Chinese! He needed to go pick up dinner. He had remembered passing a little restaurant on his drive over to the Target. It was funny how Cas had changed once he had become human. He was hungry now, but tired and irritable too, plus he always needed to pee for some reason apparently. Dean had felt bad for not immediately taking Castiel in when his friend had his grace stolen from him by Metatron. But Dean had been too scared to let Cas stay in the bunker with them while Ezekiel was still inside of Sam. Because if the other fallen angels came looking for Cas, then they would have been able to sense the other angels presence inside of Sam. Then an idea came to Dean. If Sam had been de-aged, then was Ezekiel gone? Sam had seemed perfectly healthy, wasn’t cold or fever-ish; just sleepy. Then again though, when Sam was little, all he ever wanted to do was eat cereal and nap; and of course whatever it was that Dean had been doing. Maybe he would wait until Cas had fallen asleep and call out to Ezekiel, and see if he responded. If the angel was still inside of Sam, he would still be able to communicate with Dean; it wasn’t like you could de-age an angel. Especially when angels are millennia of years old when Sam had been de-aged by 28 years or so. Dean shrugged it off; he’d deal with the angel crap later. Right now, his only focus was taking care of little Sammy, taking care of newly human Cas, and sweet/sour chicken.   
Dean pulled up to the Chinese restaurant that he had passed earlier. It was only fifteen minutes away from the bunker. He parked baby in the lot, grabbed his wallet and walked in. Dean went up to the counter, “Uh, do you guys do take-out here?” He asked, flipping through one of the menus on the counter. “Yeah,” started the young man behind the counter. He didn’t look to be older than high school aged. “What can I get’cha sir?” The boy offered. Dean flipped back through the menu, “Uh, can I get two number 7’s and a side of white rice please?” The boy nodded, “Sure thing,” he replied before heading towards the back of the restaurant. The food came fast, in only about fifteen minutes. Dean handed over the cash in exchange for his meal, he couldn’t be bothered to use his credit card. He thanked the boy at the counter and turned to go back top the bunker. Dean set the take out in the passenger seat, it was almost 6:00pm. Cas was probably starving, he thought to himself. Dean wouldn’t have been surprised if Cas had eaten all of the peanut butter pretzel by the time he pulled up.   
The drive home was short and easy. Dean had managed to hit all of the green lights and the colors of dusk had began to settle in the sky. The bright blue Kansas sky had started to go a warm shade of violet, wispy clouds had formed overhead. Dean finally puled up to the bunker; he grabbed the two shopping bags and the take out and headed inside. “I’m home!” Dean called out into the open space. “Dee!” Sammy called back. He was sitting in Castiel’s lap in the big green chair. The former angel dog-eared his page and set the book down onto the arm of the chair. Sam hopped off of Cas’s lap and ran over towards his big brother. Sam barely came up to Dean’s knee, but regardless of his small stature, Sam wrapped his little arms around Dean’s leg. “Dee!” he exclaimed again, reaching up to pull on Dean’s jacket sleeve. Dean leaned over and ruffled Sam’s hair, “missed you too kiddo,” he reassured, setting the take out down onto the table. Dean looked over at the blue-eyed man in the chair, “what’cha reading Cas?” the hunter asked. Cas picked up the book to show Dean the cover, “The Great Gatsby, by a Mr. F Scott Fitzgerald.” He replied, looking quite pleased with himself. “Since when did you take an interest in literature?” Dean joked, flashing a toothy grin. Cas raised his pointer finger, “its very interesting Dean!” He insisted before walking over to the table. Dean bent down to attempt to get eye-level with his brother, “I got you some pajamas Sammy, do you want to change before dinner?” Dean pulled out the batman pajamas from the Target bag and he saw Sammy’s eyes go wide. “Ba-man!” the toddler giggled, unable to pronounce the “t”. Sam reaching up to touch the soft fabric. “Let’s go get you changed huh, buddy?” Dean asked, and Sam nodded quickly in response; taking the black and yellow pajamas into his tiny hands. Cas smiled down at the two brothers, Dean was so caring.   
“Hey Cas, I’m gonna go get Sammy changed and I’ll meet you back here for dinner in five? You mind grabbing plates?” The hunter asked, picking up the Target bags. “Of course Dean, no trouble at all,” Cas sighed, grinning to himself.   
“C’mon Sammy,” Dean beckoned, the toddler followed closely behind his big brother. His normal Sam sized shirt has been properly button but at least three-fourths of the shirt trailed behind him on the floor. Dean led them into his own room, and set the bags onto the dresser opposite of his desk. Dean pulled the tags off of the pajama set, careful not to rip the thin printed fabric. “Here ya go kiddo,” Dean said, handing Sam the pajama pants first. The toddler was able to wiggle the pants up on his own. It was just then that Dean made a mental note to thank his younger self for potty-training Sam when he was two.   
“I Ba-man!” Sammy exclaimed, kicking one of his little legs up into the air to show Dean the yellow colored bat logos. Dean chuckled, “almost Sammy, here ya go,” he said, helping get his brother’s now ginormous flannel unbuttoned. “Hands up!” Dean instructed, and Sam thrust his little arms up towards the ceiling. Dean pulled the matching shift down over Sam’s head and got it situated onto his brother’s little frame. “I Ba-man!” Sam repeated, pointing to the large logo in the center of his shirt. “Yeah you are kiddo,” Dean laughed, standing back up. “Ya hungry Sammy?” He continued. Sam nodded his head yes and smiled up at his big brother. “Okay, let's go eat!” Dean turned out of his room and padding down the hallway back to the table, Sam following closely behind. When Sam and Dean got back to the table, Castiel had put out plates and cups for everyone. Dean smiled to himself, Cas had remembered to put a beer out by his usual seat. “You made a very nice Batman, Sam.” Cas offered, smiling at the toddler who has clutching Dean’s pant leg. His face lit up at Cas’s comment, “Yeah!” He giggled, his mop of curly brown hair bouncing as he laughed. Dean picked Sam up and set him in his usual chair. The full-grown hunter laughed, Sam was barely able to see over the tabletop. “I got it,” he said, turning towards the bookcase. Dean pulled out a few books at random, and scooted them under Sam. “Better now Sammy?” he asked before opening the take out boxes. Sam nodded yes and continued to smile over the table at Cas. Dean used a spoon to dish out the sweet and sour chicken and white rice onto each of their plates.  
“Thanks for grabbing dinner Dean,” Cas remarked, mouth already full of rice. Dean laughed at the sight of his friend, “No problem,” he assured. Dean took a sip of his beer and proceeded to eat his own portion of the meal. He looked over at Sam, who was struggling a little bit with his fork. It was so big in comparison to his hand, but he had managed to get a piece of chicken up onto the end of the fork and into his mouth. Without even getting any sauce on his new pajamas, needless to say, Dean was impressed. Dinner passed almost silently, both Cas and Dean were too hungry to make real conversation. Then there was little Sam, who could only string about four words together. He seemed perfectly happy to be totally and completely invested in the task of stabbing his chicken with the fork until he was finally able picked it up.   
By the time Cas and Dean had finished, Sam was already yawning in his chair. “You should probably put your brother to bed Dean, he looks tired,” Cas pointed out. Dean had been sipping on his beer but he raised his eyebrows and shrugged, “Yeah, little guy looks like he’s about to fall over.” Dean got up and moved over to Sam’s chair, picking him up and holding him up against his chest. “I sleep with you Dee?” Sam mumbled against Dean’s neck. The hunter gently patted his brother’s back, “sure buddy,” he whispered softly. Growing up, Sam and him always had to share a bed. Going from sleazy motel to sleazy motel, it was just something that they had gotten used to; a comfort. When Sam was little, he wasn’t ever able to sleep unless Dean was in the room. “Wanna help me put him to bed Cas?” The former angel nodded in agreement, and followed Dean back to his room at the end of the hallway. Cas pulled the covers back on the bed, and Dean placed Sam down onto the mattress. Dean then turned to the dresser, and pulled the plaid teddy bear out of the Target bag. Although Sam was sleepy, he lazily reached up trying to grab at the stuffy. “Bear,” he mumbled sleepily. “Here ya go Sammy,” Dean said, placing the bear into Sam’s arms. Sam pulled the stuffed animal tight against him, wrapping him up in a hug. He buried his face into the teddy bear’s tummy and turned over, sticking his thumb into his mouth; he already half asleep.   
“I think I am going to retire for the night as well. Goodnight Dean,” Cas said quietly, so as not to disturb Sam. The hunter smiled, “G’night Cas.” The ex-angel walked back to his newly designated room and Dean too got ready for bed. He pulled out a set of soft grey pajamas from his dresser, grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, and headed for the bathroom.   
The tile flooring of the bathroom felt cold against his now bare feet. He had kicked off his shoes as the table during dinner. Dean changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. He’d take a shower in the morning. He was too tired. It had been a long, long, day. Dean headed back to his room. When he had gotten back, Sam was fast asleep on the far side of the bed. Dean smiled to himself, having little Sammy around wasn’t that bad after all. He slid under the covers himself and patted the top of Sam’s head gently, “G’night Sammy,” he whispered, “everything’s gonna be okay.”


	3. chapter 3

Chapter 3 

A soft jab to his side woke Dean that morning. Sam had curled himself into Dean’s side, his new teddy bear sandwiched in between the two of them. Dean rubbed his eyes sleepily before carefully slipping out of bed. He pulled the soft grey covers back up over Sam’s small frame, and closed the door gently behind him. The hunter sauntered down the hall, still groggy from the events of yesterday.   
Once Dean reached the kitchen, he was hit with an overwhelming smell of coffee. “Cas?” He called out. The blue eyed man, also still in his pajamas, turned to face his friend. “Are you making coffee?” The hunter asked, surprised.   
“Yes. I learned how while I worked at the Gas-n-Sip,” Cas smiled brightly, clearly proud of himself. If he couldn't be an angel, he’d try damn well to be a decent human. Cas set his own mug down, and opened a cabinet to get Dean a mug too. He filled the cup with warm black coffee, “I uh, I don’t know how you like your coffee, so here,” he rambled, offering the cup of caffeine over to Dean.   
“Thank you Cas,” the hunter said, gladly accepting the offer. The two men sipped quietly on their coffees; Cas leaned up against the kitchen counter. Dean was glad that he had gotten out of bed when he had, because the coffee was still warm. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn't half bad. He felt some of the grogginess slip out of him as he sipped on his beverage, right hip rested against the lower set of wooden cabinets.   
But, Dean felt awkward. He wanted to say something to Cas. He knew that he should. But what would he say? “I’m sorry that I kicked you out cause there’s another angel possessing my brother oops sorry so we both could possible be super duper screwed.” Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go over with the ex-angel too well. Dean would have think of something, before they got entirely comfortable again. He didn’t want things to become easy again, not yet. Because if it was easy, it meant that it was comfortable, predictable. If they had gotten into that routine, when Dean finally did confess to Cas what he had done, Cas would leave. And Dean couldn’t even fathom having to go through losing Cas; again.   
Castiel on the other hand, somehow appeared content, even so early in the morning. After his experience at the gas station mini-mart, he seemed to have gotten closer with coming to terms that he was in fact, human. A few minutes passed without either man speaking.   
Once Dean had gone through the motions of feeling the guilt that hung in the back of his mind, the silence had actually become a ease. Cas had never been too much of a talker, and instead, would rather resort to odd looks or the tilt of his head to convey his thoughts. Dean had gotten used to that with Cas, but that was only an aspect of Cas. It was having Cas around again that he had to get used to; that Castiel could be becoming a constant in his life. Before the fall of the angels, when he still had his grace, their dynamic was different than it had been in the past few days. When Cas had his grace, his angel mojo, he could pop in and pop out whenever he pleased. He could soar around the world in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Cas could bend time, Cas could smite demons, Cas could save lives; Castiel the angel, had saved Dean from perdition. And now… Cas could make coffee.   
These thoughts lingered in Dean’s head, overwhelmed by it all. The intense urge to apologize was nagging and nagging at him. But Dean Winchester, being the man that he was, never said what he meant plainly. Dean Winchester had never said, “I love you”, by saying “I love you.” The same rule applied for apologies.   
So instead of “I’m sorry, Cas.” Dean said, “How about I make you breakfast?”   
Castiel’s eyes flickered up from his coffee to look over at Dean. The hunter shifted uncomfortable under the former angels gaze. But then Cas’s lips curled up into a smile, and subsequently, Dean’s shoulders fell; his stance becoming relaxed. “I would enjoy that very much Dean, thank you,” Cas answered, grinning softly at his friend. Dean smiled meekly, trying to return the gesture. He turned towards the cabinets and started pulling different boxes out. “Go sit down Cas, I’ve got it.” Dean said, turning to pull a jug of milk out of the fridge. Cas nodded, “Okay Dean.” The former angel shuffled out of the kitchen and back towards the big green chair by the dinning table; his too-long pajama pants dragging along the floor behind him.   
Cas decided that the green chair would become his own little spot in the bunker. He turned and sat down in the green chair, the cushioning soft against his back. His book; The Great Gatsby still resided on the chair’s arm; right where he had left it the night before. Cas pulled the book up off of the chair and turned to his dog-eared place keeper. Page 71. “The juxtaposition of those two remarks was starling.”   
Cas wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting in the green chair, but Dean had periodically come into the room, setting things down onto the long wooden table. It was after Dean had laid out a set of blue napkins that Cas first heard it; a small sound, almost like a cry. At first, Cas didn’t think anything of it. When he had first become human, all of the sounds of the world overwhelmed him. The ringing, the talking, the screeching of wheels and of other metal machines all had been enough to make Cas think that his head was bound to explode. So the ex-angel turned his page, and kept reading. But then the sound came again, and the humanness of Castiel was being drawn out of him. Then the connection clicked inside of his; Sam.   
Cas folded the edge of his current page over before closing his book. Without mention to Dean, Cas quickly made his way over to the hunters’ room. He opened the door slowly, and peered inside the still dark room.   
Sam was sat up in the bed; the grey blanket draped around him. His small arms clutching the plaid teddy bear impossibly close against his chest. Sam sniffled, his face was red. Sam rubbed his cheek against the top of the bears’ head and looked around the room, eyes shifting frantically until he saw Cas, standing in the doorway. The sniffling stopped. “Daddy?” Sam called out. Castiel smiled, thank goodness Sam was all right. Cas walked over to Sammy and took a seat on the edge of the bed.   
“Are you okay Sam?” he asked gently. Sam looked up at Cas, his brown eyes watery. Wordlessly, Sam pulled the covers off and tumbled over to Castiel’s side. Sam wrapped one of his arms around Cas’s, his other arm still holding onto the bear. “I- I scared. All alone..” Sam gabbed, pressing his head against Castiel’s soft pajama sleeve. Cas put his arm on little Sam’s shoulder, “I am here now, and you are okay Sam.” Cas conveyed in the simplest way he could. He still didn’t really know how to talk to little kids; especially the kids who couldn’t speak for than two sentences at a time. Cas had gotten too used to adult conversation, he wasn’t used to conversing with three year olds just yet.   
“Would you like breakfast Sam? Your brother is cooking. Are you hungry?” This made Sam smile wide. The toddler wiped his eyes against his batman pajama sleeve. Sam nodded his head ‘yes’; up and down furiously. Sam pushed himself down off of the bed, teddy bear still in hand. “Breakfast! C’mon!” Sam squeaked, pulling the fabric of Cas’s flannel pants. Cas stood up and led Sam out to the breakfast table.   
When the pair got back to the dining room, Dean was just filling the last cup up with orange juice. “Dee!” Sam called out at the sight of his big brother. Dean smiled, setting the juice back onto the table. Dean crouched down and held his arms out to Sam, “Hey buddy!” he replied enthusiastically. Sam ran over into Dean’s arms, teddy bear trailing in his hand behind him. Dean picked the toddler up, and hugged him tight. “Didn’t even know you were up kiddo.”   
“I found him in your room,” Cas started, “He thought he was all alone. He also still thinks I’m your father, apparently.” Dean’s face flushed, feeling some second hand embarrassment. Dean brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck, “yeah, haha sorry about that Cas. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Before Cas could continue on, Dean pulled Sam off of him and sat him in his chair, old books still stacked up from the night before acted as his booster seat.   
“Breakfast!” Sam cheered excitedly, raising his little arms up into the air. Dean made a silly face at Sam who was giggling at his big brothers reddened face. “I um, I made pancakes.” Dean stuttered, gesturing over to the full table. The hunter had set three places, one for each of them. A large plate of pancakes sat in the middle of the table, alongside it was a bowl of eggs and some maple syrup. Dean had also poured each of them a cup of juice. Sam’s juice had been poured into a disposable plastic cup however; due to the lack of unbreakable kid cups in the bunker. Cas smiled graciously, and made his way to his seat adjacent from little Sam. The former angel sat patiently in his chair, with his hands folded in his lap, waiting for Dean to join the table. “I uh- I hope you like it. The breakfast. I haven’t exactly been practicing my pancake skills recently,” Dean joked, taking his seat. Dean pulled two small pancakes off of the big plate and plopped them down in front of Sam. The kid’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Pancakes!” Sam cheered, a huge grin overtaking his face. Cas couldn’t help but smile too. He hadn’t seen Sam smile at all since he had started the trials. Even if this Sam was little, de-aged Sam who had no memory of the last thirty or so years of his life. Sam deserved some happiness; some smiles. It was easy to be happy when you are young, Cas concluded. When you are young, it’s basically ensured that you are going to be taken care of. By your parents or other family. But for Sam, there was always Dean. Dean had been the ever-present warmth in Sam’s life. No matter what happened to them. Dean had always taken care of his little brother. It was just easier for Dean to take care of his little brother when he was, well, little. Little Sam wasn’t complicated. Pancakes made him smile. He liked to cuddle up against people. He laughed at funny faces. The goal of humanity in its purest form; happiness. And it was sat right across the table from Castiel.   
“Want me to cut them for ya Sammy?” Dean asked, pulling Cas from his train of thought. Sam nodded, “yes please Dee!” While Dean cut Sam’s pancakes for him, Cas used a fork to pick up his own share of pancakes, setting three of them down onto his plate. He spooned out some eggs and placed next to his pancakes. Being a human was hungry work.   
Dean had finished cutting Sam’s pancakes when he looked over to Castiel, who was working on cutting his own breakfast into small bite-sized pieces. “Oh! I forgot!” Dean exclaimed, getting up out of his chair. The hunter had hurried back into the kitchen. Cas furrowed his brow slightly, confused. Dean returned only a matter of seconds later. He placed a small blue jar down next to Cas’s orange juice. He saw Cas’s confused look, “its honey,” Dean elaborated. “I remembered that you liked it.” Cas’s face relaxed and he looked up at Dean. “Thank you, Dean. That was very kind of you.” Cas said, reaching for the small container. Dean smiled over at his friend, before proceeding to douse Sam’s pancakes in way more syrup than was necessary. Upon seeing this, Cas proceeded to pour honey all over his own pancakes; because, well, why not?   
Dean served himself his own breakfast as Sam and Cas both eagerly chowed down on their own food.   
Thankfully, Sam was able to finish his pancakes without spilling any syrup on himself or his bear, miraculously. Cas ate slowly, probably because of the fact that he had most likely eaten more honey than pancakes. One of the better parts of being human? Food.   
Dean felt a bit of pride shine through him. The three of them, together again. Eating a real meal, instead of diner food. Safe. Yes, there were thousands of angels roaming the Earth, and Abbadon had her eyes set on Crowley’s throne, but for some reason, in that moment, things felt okay.   
“How ‘bout me go to the park today? What do ya think Sammy?” Dean suggested, mouth full of pancakes. Sam looked up from his syrup-covered plate, “Yeah!” he exclaimed. Dean had always loved taking Sam to the park when they were little. If there was one close by their motel, Dean would take his little brother. Only when he knew that their dad would be gone for a few days though. Those memories resided alongside the memory of them as Batman and Superman, who had jumped off of a shed, heroically.   
“Okay,” Dean agreed. “I’ll clear the table and we’ll all get ready to go to the park. Sound good?” Sam nodded, excitedly. He fidgeted back and forth in his chair, curling his fingers into the soft fabric of the plaid bear’s tummy.   
“Cas, will you bring in the cups for me?” The ex-angel nodded, and took both his and Dean’s cups into his grasp, following the hunter back into the kitchen. Once the pair had entered the kitchen, Dean turned towards Castiel. “I figured we would take him to the park. It’ll tire him out enough, then we can do some research, see if there’s something that we can do to turn him back.” Dean took the cups from Cas’s hands, “Okay. That sounds like a good idea Dean.” The blue-eyed man walked back to the table, Sam was still sitting a top his booster seat of novels. The hunter came back into the dining room, trailing behind Castiel. “How about you clean up and get dressed? I’ll get Sammy here ready.” Dean offered, looking over at Cas, then down at his brother. “Sound good buddy?” Sam smiled, again. He reached out to Dean, “up! Up!” Dean smirked, taking Sam up into his arms. “Needy little kid, huh?” He joked, patting Sam’s bear’s head.   
“I got it Cas, go shower,” Dean assured his friend. “Alright,” Cas agreed. Dean turned to take Sam back to his room, but called out to Cas, back turned; “I’ll meet you out here!”   
Castiel yearned for the warmth of a shower. So far as a human, his shower visits had been far and few between. But before retreating to his bathroom, Cas grabbed his book off of the green chair. He’d have to continue reading it later. Book tucked under his arm, Castiel headed back to his room.   
His room was plain. Grey-ish blue walls, a white dressed bed. A tan colored desk and matching dresser placed on either side of the room; adjacent from each other. Cas rummaged through the drawers, which had apparently been filled with a few changes of clothes. Undoubtedly from when normal aged Sam had first given Cas a change of clothes upon his arrival back at the bunker. In the bottom drawer were a few towels. Cas pulled out the fluffiest looking one, it was navy blue. He draped the towel over his shoulder and made his way to the bathroom that was just across the hallway. The white tiles were cold under Cas’s feet, which was still a relatively new sensation to him, after wearing the same pair of shoes for what, 5 years? Something like that. Cas turned the showerhead on, hot water came streaming down. The former angel undressed and stepped into the shower. The warm water rushed over his back. He was aching, again, a new sensation for the newly human Cas. He lathered himself up in way too much soap and poured over a handful of shampoo out of the bottle to wash his hair with. Cas didn’t understand why Dean gave Sam such a hard time about buying ‘girly’ smelling soap and hair products. Cas decided that he rather enjoyed smelling like lavender and vanilla. He made a mental note to thank Sam for his good soap taste once the now tiny hunter became normal aged Sam again.   
Meanwhile, Dean had taken Sam into his room to get him dressed for the park. The older of the two wanted a shower, but he figured that he’d wait for until they got back. Plus, he figured, Cas would probably use up all of the hot water.   
Dean set his little brother down on the unmade bed and kneeled down next to him.   
“Zeek?” he asked meekly, brows furrowed in anticipation. Sammy blinked, then giggled at Dean’s scrunched up face. “You is silly Dee!” Sam said, reaching out to grab his brothers face. Dean sighed a little sigh of relief, somehow Ezekiel had been pushed out of his brother. Whether it be by the spell, or whatever else, Dean felt better now. Because Sam looked healthy, heck, Sam seemed happier than he had been in weeks, months even. Perhaps, when the witch de-aged Sam, it had turned back the clock on Sam’s life, instead of just changing his physical and mental age. That would explain why Sam seemed to have no recollection of who Cas was, or what was going on at all for that fact. In their childhood, until about age five or six, Sam had just believed whatever it was that Dean had told him. Dad was working; okay. Don’t won't be back for a few days; that was normal. So it made sense that Sam had believed anything that came out of his brothers mouth. But what Dean didn’t understand, was how Sam had recognized him immediately. Maybe, somewhere in Sam’s subconscious, he’d always recognize his big brother.   
Pulling himself out of thought, Dean headed over to the desk to pull the change of clothes for Sam out of the Target bag. Dean brought the blue shorts, power ranger shirt, and the rest of the clothes over to the side of the bed. “Wanna get dressed Sammy?” He asked, showing the toddler the clothes that he had bought the night before. “I can do it Dee!” Sam announced proudly, hopping off of the bed. Dean chuckled, “Okay buddy, whatever you say.” Dean took the opportunity to pick out his own clothes for the day, opting for blue jeans and a soft grey t-shirt. Once Dean had gotten his clothes on, Sam had somewhat managed to dress himself. The only problem was, Sam was trying to pull the armhole of the shirt down over his head. Small brown curls poked out from under the bright green fabric of the graphic shirt. “Other way, kiddo,” Dean suggested, walking back around to the side of the bed that his brother was next to. Dean readjusted the shirt for Sam, fixing it right so that the toddler could pull the shirt down over his head correctly. “Cool!” Sam exclaimed, smiling up at big brother Dean. Sam picked up his bear, which had been placed carefully next to his feet and hugged him tightly. “Socks and shoes now Sammy,” Dean voiced. Pulling a pair of white socks and the small orange and blue tennis shoes off of the desk. Dean placed the shoes and socks on the floor next to the bed, and lifted Sam back up onto the mattress so that his feet were dangling off of the side. Dean pulled the socks up over Sam’s small feet and put his shoes on for him too, doing the Velcro straps ups and everything. Sam smiled happily at his brother, “Thank you, Dee!”   
Dean pulled his own socks and shoes on before asking, “ready to go to the park Sammy?” The little hunter jumped back off of the bed, teddy bear in hand and ran over to Dean. “Park, park!” he squeaked; it almost looked like he was bouncing up and down with excitement. “Let’s go get Cas, kiddo.” Dean suggested, grabbing his brown canvas jacket off of the desk chair. Sam trailed closely behind Dean on the short walk back to the ‘foyer’ of the bunker.   
Cas was sitting in the green chair, legs tucked up underneath him, his book in hand. Cas had changed into his day clothes, he was dressed like a Winchester, Dean thought. The ex angel had opted for a pair of dark wash jeans (which were a little too big on him), and a classic red and blue plaid shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were too long though, and came down over his hands. “You ready to go?” the hunter interrupted. Cas looked up from his book. “This novel is very interesting, Dean. Have you ever read it?” Cas questioned, tilting his head to the side as he closed the book. “Uh no- I was never a big reader. It’s Sam’s book.” Dean confessed. Cas looked over at Dean, “I understand now why Metatron was so fond of these… stories.” Cas said, smiling sadly. Dean saw this, and decided to interject. “Hey, cheer up man, we’re going to the park.” Cas sighed, “Gatsby deserves so much better than Daisy,” he said under his breath.   
Dean rolls his eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about man. Are you ready to go?” Cas looked back up from the floor, over at the two brother that stood before him. “Yes, let’s go.” Dean grabbed his phone and keys up off of the light up panel by the door, and shoved them both into his jacket pocket.   
“Dee! Up!” Sam insisted, once again reaching up for his brother. Dean gladly scooped Sam into his arms, and the three of them made their way to the impala.   
“Can you hold him again, Cas?” Dean asked, holding Sam and the teddy bear out to the ex angel. “Of course,” Cas answered, taking Sam into his arms. “Hi Daddy,” Sam whispered, looking up at Cas. Instead of giving the toddler a confused look, Cas just smiled back at him, and slid them both into the backseat of the car. Dean started the engine, and they were off to the park.   
The drive was short, trees had grown so high that they blocked the sun from beating down on the narrow roads that surrounded the bunker. As it turns out, the park was only a ten-minute drive away. Thinking back on it, Dean was glad he had spotted the park on one of the trips back to the bunker after a routine hunt. Probably an easy salt and burn, but Dean couldn’t remember.   
Sam put his hands up against the glass and stared out of the window in awe when they pulled up to the park. Hey were out of the more wooded area that encased the bunker, and closer to the town. There was a slide, a swing set, a jungle jim, and a sand pit. It was a normal park, but Sam looked at it like it was the coolest place he had ever seen. Dean pulled up into one of the vacant spots and parked the car. Cas picked Sam up out of his lap and set him down on the ground. Sam grabbed a hold of the denim of Cas’s jeans in his vacant hand, “Let’s gooooo!” Sam cheered, pointing at the large swing set. Sam reached way high up over his head to grab a few of Castiel’s fingers in his small hand. The former angel felt a rush of emotion flow through him. Sam wanted him around him. Not just to help with a case. But to play, make memories; the good kind. Cas smiled down at his child-aged friend, and gladly hurried along behind him as Sam led him over to the slide.   
Dean had barely shut the driver’s door by the time Sam had taken off, Cas in toe, for the swing set. Dean just laughed, he hadn’t seen his brother this excited about something since he stopped believe in the Easter bunny when he was eleven. Well, eleven and a half technically.   
Dean looked around the small park. The leaves on the trees had started to go red, it was beautiful. There were a few other families at the park. A mother with her daughter, a family of four, and a few others. But Dean didn’t pay much attention to them. He had his own family, waiting for him over by the swing set.


	4. chapter 4

Chapter 4 

“Higher! Higher!” Sam called down to Cas, feet kicking high up into the air. “Okay!” The former angel replied, as he pushed a little harder against Sam’s back, causing the swing to rise further up into the air. Sam laughed, loud and happy.   
“Hey you two,” Dean yelled out to this companions. The hunter walked over briskly, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He sat down in the unoccupied swing, and picked up the plaid bear, which had been carefully set down on the ground next to Cas’s feet. “Dee! Look!” Sammy giggled as he swung up towards the sky. Dean smiled up at his little brother, before turning to Cas.   
“Thanks for doing this, man.” The ex-angel didn’t reply with words, but simply with a smile. This made Dean feel a little pang of warmth in the hollows of his chest. He had his own little family. Hell, he had had it for years. But this had shifted things; had put everything into perspective. Everything was so fragile, the world was fragile. Dean knew that for a fact, his brother and him had died again and again in effort to save it. But Dean Winchester, no, Dean Winchester was not fragile.   
But Sam, Sam was. Even when he wasn’t, to Dean, his little brother would always be the most fragile being in the whole wide world. Sam had his life torn into pieces again and again and again. Sam had been an addict, Sam had been to Hell, and Sam had been Lucifer’s chew toy. But everyday, Sam got up, and hunted some evil-sons-of-bitches. But it wasn’t until Dean saw Sam again, as his little self, that he remembered how truly fragile humanity was. How fragile life was. The innocence that had come back into Sam’s eyes made Dean’s heart ache. Sam hadn’t started asking questions about their peculiar lifestyle until he was five or six. But this Sam was only a mere three years of age. This Sam didn’t realize it was ‘weird’ that they didn’t have a mother. This Sam didn’t wonder where Dad went. (Even though he thought that Cas was his dad.) This Sam always knew who would take care of him, because Dean had, and he would continue to.   
Before Dean realized it, he was being pulled along my Sam’s little hand, leading the three of them towards one of the other playground structures. “Slides!” Sam exclaimed, looking back up at his big brother, eyes wide. “Yeah kiddo,” Dean laughed in reply. Sam let go of Dean’s fingers and scrambled up towards the slide platform, leaving Cas and Dean to wait for him at the bottom. A little girl followed Sam up towards the slide, a large smile plastered across her face. A woman stepped up next to Dean and Cas, “he your son?” she asked with a smile. The woman looked friendly enough. She had reddish hair that was pulled over her shoulder in a loose braid, and a big toothy grin. The out of the blue question surprised Cas at first but Dean smiled over at the comely woman. “Yeah, that’s Sammy,” Dean said, gesturing up at the toddler. “He’s so cute,” the woman remarked. “That’s Phoebe. It’s my day off so I thought I’d take her to the park.” Dean looked up towards the slide; Sam and the other toddler, who was apparently named Phoebe, were sitting at the top together trying to slide down next to each other. “Yeah, Sam loves the park.” Dean added, nudging Cas a little bit, encouraging the ex-angel to say something. But then little Sam called out to the two of them. “Daddy!” he squealed, waving his little hand at Cas, who had a grin spreading across his face. Sam and Phoebe had managed to squeeze themselves down the slide together, the two of them giggling all the way down. The woman bent down and held her arms out to her daughter who ran up to her. Sam did the same, heading for his brother and Cas. “Dee!” He said, pushing his arms up into the air. “I think he wants to be picked up Dean,” Cas suggested, turning towards the hunter. Dean bent down and picked Sam up, holding him tight against his side. Once safely up in Dean’s arms, Sam reached out for Cas. “Daddy!”   
The woman smiled over at them, her daughter holding onto the fabric of her long blue skirt. “I’m Kate by the way,” she announced, tucking a piece of her red hair behind her ear. Cas looked over to Kate, “I’m Castiel,” he began, “and this is Dean, my uh,” Cas felt himself flounder a little bit with words for a moment. Kate offered a reassuring look as she patted the top of her daughter’s head.   
“Mama?” the young girl cooed, pulling at the soft cotton of her mother’s skirt. Kate smiled down at her daughter, “yeah sweetheart?”   
“Slide! Please?” she giggled, looking up and over at Sam. “Sure, go ahead,” Kate reassured her. Dean pulled Sam’s body off of his flannel clad chest, “you wanna go on the slide again, buddy?” the hunter asked, brushing Sam’s curly locks out from in front of his eyes. Sam nodded his head, “yeah!” He giggled excitedly. Dean lowered his brother down back onto the grass and let the toddler hurry off towards the slide, Phoebe leading the two of them up the playground stairs.   
“So how long have you two been together?” Kate asked, letting her hands come to rest on her hips. Cas’s face flushed at the sudden, and slightly invasive question. How was he supposed to answer that? Together…? “Almost four years,” Dean interjected before placing his hand on Cas’s shoulder. “Ain’t that right, Cas?” The taller man continued on, squeezing the top of his friend’s arm. “Y-yeah,” Cas nervously added, the remnants of blush still lingering on his nose and cheeks.   
“That’s so sweet,” Kate chimed in, “I’ve been married for almost six years,” she said with a little laugh, before looking over to check on her young daughter. The two children had managed to climb up the playground steps again, and seemed to be trying to make the incredibly hard decision of which of the two slides they should go down. The swirly slide, or the straight-down slide?   
Sam had been pointing over towards the swirly slide, while Phoebe was pulling him towards the straight slide. However, Sam was easily persuaded, and he followed her towards the straight slide, which was another small set of stairs up the playground structure. The three adults stood waiting for the toddlers at the bottom of the large slide, all quietly watching their respective child. Well, Sam wasn’t really Dean and Cas’s, but it almost felt like it.   
The first time around that Dean raised Sam; he was still only a child himself, at a mere four years senior to his brother. Once annoying ‘little Sam’ now seemed adorable to a grown-up Dean. Asking to be picked up and held. Getting excited about going to the park. There had always been something lurking around in the back of Dean’s mind over his desire to have a family. But maybe this was exactly the kind of family he needed; although that included Sam being normal-sized. Perhaps a fallen angel and an ex-blood junkie were the best family that Dean would ever have. Not because he didn’t deserve a partner or children, but because maybe, where he was right now, was the best fit for Dean. He had given being domestic a chance with Lisa and Ben, but even then, things never felt exactly right. Originally, Dean had thought that the discomfort of home-life had been caused because of his fear of turning into a man like his father. But that didn’t happen. In fact, Dean had been great with Ben, made friends with the neighbors, and even mowed the lawn. But none of those things had been able to fill those holes in his chest that Sam and Cas had left empty. But now they were both back, even though not in pristine condition, they were there. Cas had lost his Grace, and Sam, well, Sam was practically a baby again. But that didn’t matter. Dean was going to take care of the three of them. They’d figure things out. They always did.   
By now, Sam and Phoebe had climbed the playground stairs and slid down both slides too many times to count. Dean laughed every time Sam would reach the bottom of the slide. Because instead of immediately standing and clamoring back up the stairs, Sam would throw his little arms up into the air like he had just won a gold medal. It really was the cutest thing.   
After what was probably the two hundredth time, little Sam finally trotted on over towards Dean and Cas, and Phoebe followed suit, grabbing ahold of Kate’s leg. “Daddy,” Sam mumbled, taking a handful of the worn in denim of Castiel’s jeans in his fist. “I hungry, Daddy.”   
Cas bent down to kneel next to Sam, “Okay Sam, let’s get you home then. We can make some snacks.” He told the toddler, patting him gently on the head. Dean turned to Kate, “I guess we better get this little guy home. He’s due for a nap anyways.” Kate smiled graciously, “of course,” she said, “Pheebs is gonna need her nap soon too.” Dean offered his hand out, which Kate accepted, shaking his hand, “Nice meeting you Dean and Castiel, you too Sammy!” she said, waving to Sam. Dean replied with a simple smile, this whole thing had been kind of nice actually.   
When Dean had turned around, he was greeted by the sight of Cas holding onto Sam’s small hand, a smile on both of their faces. Dean then handed Sam’s bear over to him, after having held on to the stuffed toy the whole time that they had been at the park. “Bear!” Sam called out giddily, reaching his free hand out to grasp the stuffed animal. “There ya go, buddy,” Dean said, handing the bear over to his little brother. “Let’s head back to the car, yeah?” Dean suggested. Cas nodded and led the three of them back to the Impala.   
Cas slipped into the back seat because they were still lacking a car seat, and Dean of course got into the drivers seat. “Did you have a good time at the park, Sammy?” Dean asked, looking back at Sam through the rear-view mirror as he drove down the road. “Yeah,” Sam yawned, leaning his little head up against Cas’s flannel clad arm. “Let’s put him down for a nap when we get back to the bunker, that sound alright Cas?”   
The ex angel nodded, “yes Dean, I think that would be good. Human children do seem to get tired very fast.”   
The rest of the care ride was mostly quiet, except for the almost inaudible sound of Dean softly humming a Metallica tune up in the front seat. Sam had managed to climb over top of Cas and press his face up against the window, staring at the trees and the joggers and the dog walkers and the little flower shop on the street corner on their way back to the bunker.   
When Dean pulled into the garage, Cas carried little Sam out of the backseat of the Impala. “Ready for a nap Sammy?” Dean asked, following Cas out of the bunkers garage and into through the kitchen. “Snacks!” Sam chirped, head peaking up over Castiel’s shoulder to look back at his brother. “Cas, how about you go get Sam in his pajamas and I’ll make us some snacks?” Dean offered once they reached the kitchen. “It's okay, Dean. You made breakfast, I can handle making some snacks. I used to make nachos all the time at the Gas-N-Sip,” Cas suggested. Dean nodded, “okay, I’ll get Sam ready for his nap.” The hunter held out his arms to grab Sam. The toddler pulled his arms around Dean’s neck, his plaid bear still firmly grasped in his left hand. Dean offered Cas a reassuring smile before heading down the hallway that led back to his bedroom.   
Cas stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment, thinking about what to do. He remembered that Sam liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches, so perhaps he could make that. Cas pulled the bread out of the cabinet along with a jar of Skippy smooth peanut butter. Cas then went and grabbed a large plate out of the dishwasher and placed in up on the counter alongside the bread and peanut butter. The ex angel pulled a small butter knife out from one of the drawers; which he had finally found after going through about every drawer in the kitchen. Cas spread the peanut butter across the wheat bread, making sure it was even. Then he reached to grab a fresh banana from the fruit basket by the fridge; Sam was the one who usually kept it stocked. He peeled the banana and cut thin slices to set on top of the peanut butter. He placed the top piece of bread onto the sandwich, and made the decision to cut the crusts off. He wasn’t too fond of them. The squishy bits of the bread were the best bits.   
Cas cut the de-crusted sandwich into four small triangles, making it so that it would be easier for Sam to pick up now. He also poured some milk into one of the plastic cups and set the food out on the table. Cas returned to the kitchen, in search of something for him and Dean to eat. He was hungry already, even though he had only eaten a few hours ago. Being human was very time consuming, but he had already figured that out.   
Cas rummaged through the fridge, there was left over Chinese from the night before, a half eaten burger, a bunch of Sam’s rabbit food that little Sam probably wouldn’t eat. And then Cas saw it. Pie. A good half of an apple pie lay in the back of the fridge; he was surprised it hadn’t already been entirely consumed. Pie never lasted very long when in the presence of Dean Winchester. This would do just the trick. Cas pulled the pie out of the fridge and used the peanut butter covered knife to cut himself and Dean each a reasonable slice. He slid the pieces of pie each onto individual plates and placed them in the microwave together. It only took about a minute and a half for the pie to warm up before Cas pulled the pieces out. As the ex-angel was walking out to the table with the pie in hand, Dean entered with little Sam in tow.   
“Sammich!” the toddler exclaimed, stumbling over towards the table. He was now dressed in his Batman pajamas again, all ready for his soon approaching naptime. Sam stood at the base of the chair with the books stacked into a booster seat that had been set up for him the night before. “We have pie?” Dean asked excitedly, eyes getting wide when he saw what Cas was carrying towards the table. “Uh yeah, I found it in the fridge. Here you go, Dean.” Cas said, offering the two plates over to Dean. “I’ll go get us some forks.” The hunter gladly took ahold of the two plates of pies, and set them at his and Cas’ respective seats. Dean then made his way around to the other side of the table where Sam had been trying to jump up into his seat. “There ya go Sammy,” Dean said, lifting his little brother up into the chair. “Look, Sam! Cas made your favorite, peanut butter and banana.” Sam’s eyes lit up as he eyed the sandwich. He reached his small hand out and picked up one of the four triangles. Dean took his own seat the head of table and looked over his apple pie, it smelled awesome.   
Cas came back to the table, two forks in hand. He handed one to Dean and kept one for himself, eagerly putting a bite of apple pie into his mouth before even taking the time to sit down in his seat. “I now understand why you like pie so much, Dean.” Cas mumbled, with a mouth full of filling and flaky crust. Dean laughed, his own mouth full of pie, and resorted to simply giving Cas a funny wink. Dean shoveled the pie into his mouth quickly, cause why not? It was pie, and pie was awesome.   
“Thanks for making little Sasquatch here a sandwich, Cas.” Dean interjected, smiling over at Sam, making a funny face by sticking his tongue out. “Dee!” Sam cooed while attempting to chew one of the corners of his sandwich. “Of course Dean. Always happy to help,” Cas said beaming. He was proud of himself. He could make snacks, and he seemed pretty good at it. Nachos, sandwiches, heating up a couple pieces of pie. Those skills weren’t too bad to have. They were helpful skills, human skills. Little things, but still things. Cas had learned to make coffee, and work a microwave. He had learned to make Sam’s favorite sandwich and how to push someone on the swing set. For the first time he had started to read a book because he wanted to. Yes, Metatron had installed all of the knowledge of all of the books that he had ever read into Castiel’s head, but being human made all of that information a little bit, well, jumbled up.   
Within the short span of ten minutes, the three of them had already finished their food. Sam yawned before gulping down some of his milk. “Sleepy, Sam?” Dean asked, pushing the hair out of Sam’s eyes. Sam nodded slightly, eyes flickering open and closed for a moment. Sam nodded lazily, setting his milk cup back down onto the table. “Nap time, kiddo,” Dean announced, getting up from his place at the table. “I’ll be right back,” Dean assured Cas, as he went to lift Sam out of his seat. The toddler had gone from, super energized to a sleepy little ball of fluff within the hour, practically falling asleep as he ate his sandwich. Dean hoisted Sam up off of the booster seat of books and into his arms. Sam was so small. It was quite funny actually, how such a little kid had grown into such a huge guy. Or in this case, how such a huge guy had shrunk into such a tiny kid.   
Dean carried his little brother into his room, it would’ve been a nightmare trying to get Sam to fall asleep alone. When they had been growing up, Sam and Dean shared everything. And because Sam had been Dean’s responsibility, Dean never let his brother out of his sight. So Dean would sit up with Sam until he would fall asleep at night, every night. It was constant, it was routine, even up through their teen years. Dean turned his room’s main light on, and made his way over to the bed. He pulled the covers back and laid Sam down in the middle of the mattress. Dean retrieved the teddy bear off of the desk and placed it into Sam’s outstretched arms. “I not sleepy Dee,” Sam murmured, nuzzling his face into the bear’s tummy. Dean chuckled to himself and pulled the covers up over Sam’s small frame. “Just close your eyes Sammy. I’m gonna go talk to Cas, and if you’re still awake when I get back then you can stay up. Deal?” Dean suggested, tickling the Sam’s side through the covers. Sam squirmed and giggled, “okay Dee!” he laughed, wrapping his arms tightly around his teddy bear’s body. “I’ll be right back, kiddo,” Dean whispered, patting the head of Sam’s teddy bear gently.   
Dean closed the door quietly behind him after he turned off the light. The hunter made his way down the hallway towards the table. But when he got there, Cas had already cleared all of the tableware and was sitting over in the corner, in the green chair; book in hand. “Cas?” Dean called. Cas’s bright blue eyes flickered up from the pages of his book over to rest on Dean. Cas had taken up in his new regular spot. The ex angel had kicked off his shoes and was lazily resting his cheek against the hand that wasn’t already preoccupied with holding his book. “We um, we should probably start on some research. Ya know, about how to turn Sam back to normal age and size?” Cas nodded in response and flipped down the corner of his current page and closed the book. He uncrossed his legs and stood up from the chair, “that sounds like a good idea, Dean.” Cas crossed the room over to another bookshelf, one where he knew that books about witches were kept. He grabbed a few off the shelves that appeared to either be spell books or translation journals. Cas brought the stack of books over to one of the unused tables that Dean had taken up a seat at. Cas laid the books out across the smooth surface of the table, handing one of the leather bound journals over to Dean. Wordlessly, Cas took his own seat and cracked one of the books open. The two men sat at the table, flipping through books and journals, searching for a cure to the spell that had been put on Sam. Cas was nearly half way done with flipping through his first book when Dean spoke up.   
“Uh, about what happened at the park Cas…about the whole ‘parent’ get up,” the hunter started, “I um, I was just going with it, ya know? Couldn’t exactly say that my angel-“ Dean cut himself off once that word slipped out of his mouth. Cas had been an angel, but he was not an angel anymore. The angel had all fallen, been locked out of Heaven. Yet Castiel still blamed himself for it, for all of it. Cas’s head had dipped, and he looked down at his book. “I didn’t mean- I’m sorry Cas.” The ex angel raised his gaze up to meet Dean’s, “it’s okay,” he tried to assure Dean.   
“I um, I’ll be right back. I should go check on Sam,” Dean stuttered. The hunter stood up from the table abruptly, accidently bumping his hipbone on the wooden table’s edge. Cas was still sat in his respective seat, the look on his face a little dumb-founded. He knew that Dean was trying not trying to upset Cas with mention of the angels, but usually the hunter would just brush it off or say a simple, “sorry man,” and continue on with the conversation as he would like it was any other. But Cas decided that it probably wasn’t of much worth to worry over it. Dean had been under a lot of pressure lately anyways; perhaps taking care of Sam was a little too much of a strain for the hunter, Cas thought.   
Dean quickly shuffled his way down the hallway back into his room, and Cas turned his attention back to the spell book that he had been skimming.   
The light was still turned out, and Sam was still in bed. Dean made his way over to the bed, to check and see if his little brother had been able to fall asleep or not. “Dee?” Sam garbled, turning over to face Dean, who had taken a seat on the edge of the memory foam mattress. “Hey buddy,” Dean whispered, in attempt to not wake Sam up any further. “Not sleepy,” Sam mumbled, curling his body towards his brother. Then, an idea popped into Dean’s mind. There had been two ways Sam had been able to fall asleep when they were little kids. Option one, the sound of the Impala’s engine. Option two was the same was that Dean had fallen asleep when he himself was very little; Hey Jude.   
“Hey Jude, don’t make it bad. Take a sad song, and make it better. Remember, to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better,” the words rolled out of Dean’s mouth so easily. Just like when you get back onto a bike even if you haven’t ridden in years. Familiar, simple, easy, a comfort. “Hey Jude, don’t be afraid. You were made to go out and get her, the minute you let her under your skin then you begin to make it better.” Dean continued, stroking the top of Sam’s head as he sang. Sam’s eyes began to flutter shut, but Dean kept going; knowing fully well that little Sam would be sound asleep by the time he finished. “And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain. Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders,” as he sang that line, Dean wished that Sam would remember that when he got normal-aged again. That the fate of the world didn’t rest on Sam’s shoulders, or even the two brother’s. That Sam didn’t need to close the gates of hell. “For well you know it’s a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder.” Dean pulled the grey wool covers a little higher over Sam’s shoulders, making sure that the plaid teddy bear had covers over it too. “Nah nah nah nah-“ Dean went on. “Dee?” Sam interrupted. “Yeah Sammy?” Dean whispered, leaning in to hear. “Love you.”   
Dean felt his chest well up, and he brushed Sam’s mop of brown curls off of his forehead, “nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey Jude.”


	5. chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Sam had fallen asleep before Dean was even able to finish the song. Dean knew it would work, it always had. Dean had spent the early years of his childhood hearing Mary sing it to him, and he spent his adolescence singing it to Sam. It had always managed to calm his little brother down, even though Dean was nowhere near as good of a singer as their mother had been. He pulled the covers up over Sam’s little shoulders and the plaid teddy bear’s too, whom Sam had clutched tightly against his chest. “G’night Sammy,” Dean whispered before getting up off of the edge of the bed.   
The hunter slipped out of the bedroom and left his brother to take his nap. Dean then made his way back towards the large foyer of the bunker. Cas was still seated at the table, hunched over another of the many books that were piled up besides him. “Cas,” Dean breathed out, subconsciously. But the new human didn’t hear him. Dean groaned as his eyes scanned over the dozen or so books that lay assorted across the entire length of the table. He hated research, which is why Sam always did it. Even with his hatred for research in mind, the brunet still continued over to the table to take a seat next to his friend. “Sorry about that, Sam wouldn’t fall asleep.” Dean apologized, rubbing at the back of his neck. Cas looked up from his book and over at the hunter, “You’re a good brother Dean.” Cas’s expression was soft, his eyes almost looked as if he were pleading. “Uh, thanks Cas,” Dean mumbled, slightly embarrassed.   
“How ya doing man?” He prodded, tilting his head towards the ex-angel. Castiel’s shoulders tensed and he looked down at his feet, wiggling them back and forth under the table.   
“Gabriel used to do that for me. Take care of me, that is. When I was a fledgling.” Cas answered reluctantly, his voice strained. Dean looked over at his friend. If there was anything that Dean knew about, it was brothers. But Cas wasn’t a big brother. Yes, he had had hundreds of angels look to him for guidance, for support. Yes, technically all angels were like siblings. But the other angels didn’t refer to Castiel as “brother” like how Gabriel always had.   
“I thought you guys were all just, created…” Dean confessed. For as long as he had known Cas, he had never truly been able to understand the workings of angels; and he knew even less of the workings of heaven.   
“Gabriel’s an archangel. I am not. I am simply-“ He stopped and cut himself off short. “I was a simple soldier.” Cas’s shoulder slumped as he made the correction. “The archangels were created before me. They are, what you would call big brothers to the rest of us. However, they were really only examples. Proud, tall, above the rest of us. Except for Gabriel. He wasn’t… hallow like the rest of them. You see Dean; angels were merely intended to be warriors of God. To follow orders, do as they’re told. But Gabriel, as I’m sure you would’ve figured out by now, doesn’t,” Cas pulled his hands up to make air quotes, “go with the flow.” The words sounded a little weird coming out of Cas’s mouth, but then again, so did everything else these days. The intensity of his voice had matched him as an angel, but now Cas’s demeanor had begun to put off the image of a soft-spoken, and slightly awkward man. This new Cas was soft, so completely and utterly human. Cas had literally, been brought down to Earth. The hints of empathy that started to creep into Cas’s usual tone had been the only real change. He still tried to carry himself with the same grandeur and power than he once stood. But his muscles felt too strained, and he felt a whole in his chest, the spot where is Grace was missing from. Dean wanted to smile at Cas’s use of American slang, but felt the weight of ex angel’s heart pulling down on his own.   
“So, he and you were like Sam and I?” Dean asked, not wanting the small period of silence to get any longer than it already had. “A little,” Cas said, pushing a piece of dark shaggy hair behind his ear. “We didn’t spent nearly as much time together, but it was over millennia. He taught we how to use my wings, like how you taught Sam how to walk.” Castiel confessed, his face dripping with the look of remorse. Cas couldn’t ever remember God being there, up in Heaven. Instead, he remembers Gabriel; gold-winged, prankster, Gabriel.   
“I’m really sorry Cas,” Dean offered, patting his friend on the back as he went to stand up, shoulders broad. “I’ll go grab us a couple of beers, okay? I can’t deal with anymore witch books. Makes my head hurt after a while, ya know?” Dean said, forcing a chuckle in an attempt to make get Cas to crack a smile. But it didn’t work. Cas only nodded, and closed the spell book that he had been looking through. The hunter retreated into the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge for two bottles of beer. Cas stayed in his seat at the table, watching Dean through the doorway to the kitchen. Cas shifted a little in his seat as Dean came back to the table, he was trying to sit up a little straighter; having realized how much he had been slouching. The ever so human ache of his muscles was getting to him. The simple task of going to the park today had seem to worn him out. Cas rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as Dean set the two, newly opened bottles of beer down in front of him. “Here,” the hunter said, using his own bottle to gesture to the one he had gotten for his friend. “Thank you,” Cas mumbled, picking up his bottle to take a small sip. “If I’ve learned anything in this life,” Dean paused, “it’s that family, it’s what keeps you hu-“ his breath hitched in his chest, “they’re what keep you, you, Cas.” The ex-angel nodded is head in understanding. Dean had unintentionally meant to say ‘human’. It made sense. Because that’s what Sam and Dean did; kept each other human. “But Gabriel didn’t want to be an archangel,” Cas said, forcing himself to produce a few notes of laughter. “Yeah,” Dean scoffed, trying to be funny. “Became the damn Trickster.” The hunter took another swing of his beer and patted his friend on the back, “he wasn’t too bad of a guy though.” Castiel closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. “Gabriel was good.”   
The air between them hung thinly, the silence not all that awkward. “How ‘bout we watch a movie, what do ya say Cas?” Dean asked, gesturing over towards the small television in the living room just adjacent to them. He wanted to get Cas’s mind off of Gabriel. Now that Cas was human, all of his emotions were stronger than ever. Dean didn’t want him grieving. “We never do anything ‘normal’.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Granted, we’re anything but normal. Sammy’s still asleep anyways. When he wakes up we should go shopping, get some supplies.” Cas smiled gently, and nodded; ‘normal’, that sounded nice. The chaos of Heaven had wreaked havoc inside of him. Now fully human, Castiel couldn’t fight like he had for millennia. He was small, fragile, easily swept away; like a dandelion.   
“Okay,” he said. Why not enjoy something so innately human, and simple? Unlike angels, humans did not have all the time in the world. The life span of a typical human was like a blink of the eye in angel perceived time. And yet, while humans had the most limited amount of time, they spent it effortlessly. In the arms of those they love, among the Earth from which they originated. Many angels had never even been to Earth, and therefore were unable to see its beauty. Castiel had always appreciated it however, this big floating ball of dirt. But when his Grace was stolen, and Castiel fell, and became human, that admiration changed. No longer was he an observer of the Earth; he had become a part of it. He was no longer apart of the community of angels that he had been created into, but rather forcefully shoved into the community that is the human race. Why not part take in human activities? He was one of them now, at least for the time beings anyways. Cas was now allowed to like peanut butter sandwiches; he was allowed to be sleepy in the mornings, to enjoy going to the park with his fami- his friends.   
“What will we be watching?” The ex angel asked, standing up from his seat. Dean scrunched his face in thought. Shrugging, Dean suggested, “Well all we’ve got are Sam’s chick flick movies,” Dean answered with a laugh. “How about you choose, there’s a stack under the TV stand.” Dean picked up Cas’s beer in his free hand and led them into their makeshift living room. The bunker didn’t exactly have a living room, so Sam had left it up to Dean to set up a television in whichever room he wanted. The furniture was a little fancy for Dean’s taste, but he had set up the television and it’s boxes in one of the artifact rooms. Dean would never admit it, but the ninja swords made him geek-out, just a little bit.   
Dean set the two beers down on one of the side tables that accompanied the faded yellow couch. The hunter lay back against the pillows, and waited for Cas to choose a movie. Sam’s small stack of discs sat in perfect alignment atop lowest shelf of the TV stand. Wayne’s World, Star Wars III, 16 Candles, and Dead Poets Society, were just a few among the collection. Then Cas pulled out the last disc from the bottom of the stack, The Breakfast Club. Cas’s face twisted in confusion for a moment.   
“Who would watch a movie about people eating breakfast?” He asked Dean, innocently enough. Dean leaned forward from the couch and smiled widely at the former angel.   
“It isn’t about breakfast, Cas.” The blue-eyed man’s face softened, cocking his head to look at Dean.   
“Well,” he started, “it is a very misleading title.” Cas handed the disc over to Dean, “it’s a good movie, man. Just don’t tell Sam I said that. It’s a girl movie.” Dean whispered, crouching down next to Cas. The hunter reached over to the DVD player and slid the disc in. Dean had decided that trying to teach Cas how the whole television set up worked probably wouldn’t have a very good outcome. The hunter messed around with a few buttons, then went back to the couch to take his seat. “Come here,” Dean said, patting the cushion next to him. Cas nodded, and got up off of the cold wooden floor, making his way over to Dean. Cas takes his respective seat next to the hunter; Dean’s arm slouched against the back of couch, right behind Cas’s shoulders. The opening credits begin to play and Dean shifts to sink down lower into the couch, his arm coming down ever so slightly, now just hovering over Cas.   
The movie plays, and Cas’s eyes stay glued onto the screen. At first, he’s confused as to why all of the teens must be in a library together. But without prompting, Dean quickly explains the situation; that they are in detention. Which is punishment for acting out at school. Cas can kind of understand, and relates the situation to when angels are punished in Heaven for acting out, or rebelling; like he had. Cas feels his eyes being pulled towards Allison; the basket case. Her dark rumpled hair mimicked Cas’s. She ate ‘funny’ food, like Cas. Her parents didn’t care about her, they ignored her. Like how God had abandoned Castiel and the other angels. They all knew that God was there. But it’s not like he had taken the opportunity to play God, no pun intended. Like how Allison’s parents didn’t take care of her like parents are supposed to, leaving her to fend for herself. Cas also observes the punk, and the athlete. He can’t remember their names, but they remind him of Dean. The wrestler who had to live up to his father’s expectations, and the punk, trying to convince everyone around him that he was tough, capable. When the teens are all sitting in their circle atop a platform in the library, Dean’s arm sinks down over Castiel, the weight comfortable against the ex angels shoulders. Subconsciously, he lets himself lean back into Dean’s light grasp as he readjusts himself on the couch. As Bender (Cas finally gets a grasp on the punks’ name,) walks across the field, Cas feels his eyes get hot. Before he realizes it, a few small tears have dribbled down his cheeks.   
“Hey, hey, hey,” Dean coaxed, leaning forward to look Cas in the eyes.   
“I apologize, Dean,” Cas began.   
“It’s okay,” the hunter interjects; his own cheeks now flushed a soft pink color. “Humanity makes my emotions-“ Cas fumbles with his words, “makes them more, feel-able, if you will.” The blue-eyed man pulls away from the comfort of Dean’s left arm and sits up right in his seat.   
“Here,” Dean suggested, handing Cas his beer bottle. “Thanks,” the ex angel replies, taking the glass bottle from Dean’s hand.   
“We umm, we still need to get some stuff for Sam.” Dean suggested, bringing his extended arm up from off of the couch. Cas relaxed and reclined back against the soft cushions, “that would be a wise idea. Given that we still haven’t found a way to reverse the spell yet.” Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, “okay, let’s go see if the kid’s awake yet.” The hunter stood, and set his beer down before heading back towards his bedroom. Cas followed along behind him, the now lukewarm beer still in his grasp. Dean knocked his knuckles against the door gently before entering his room. Sam’s head popped out from underneath the covers the moment the door swung open. “Dee,” he called out, reaching one hand towards his brother, the other hand firmly grasping his teddy bear. Dean took a few quick steps over to the side of the bed, “hey buddy,” he said, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with Sam. “Did you sleep okay?” Sam nods gently instead of responding verbally. The toddler rubs his face against the top of his teddy bear’s head. Cas leans up against the doorframe, the soft material of his t-shirt snagging slightly on the old wood. He watches Dean speak to Sam, the hunters eyes bright and voice, happy. Cas smiles to himself, he’s glad Dean’s okay.   
Dean pats the top of Sam’s head softly, and ruffles up his curly brown hair. “How do you feel about going to the store kiddo?” Sam’s eyes go wide and he brings a finger up to his cheek, making himself look like he is in a very intense moment of thought. But he can only keep the pose up for a mere two seconds before he giggles and presses his small body up against Dean, who has now moved to sitting on the edge of the bed. “Let’s get you dressed,” Dean offers, standing up and moving towards the dresser where he had placed all of little Sam’s clothes. Sam jerks his head upwards suddenly, as if only just noticing that Cas was there in the room as well. “Daddy!” the toddler called, moving himself down the length of the bed, towards Castiel. Cas’s face lit up with a large smile, and he laughed. “Hello Sam,” he cooed, setting his beer down on the desk and walking over to the foot of the bed. “Up!” Sam insisted, shoving his small fists up into the air. Dean turned around from the dresser to find Sam being pulled up into Cas’s strong arms. The ex angel rocked the toddler back and forth slowly against his chest, humming an unrecognizable tune.   
Dean walked over to Cas and Sam, the fresh change of clothes in hand. Cas ever so slightly pulled Sam away from his chest, “would you like to get dressed, Sam?” He asked, looking over at Dean. Sam stared up into Cas’s eyes for a moment, “okay,” he replied finally; his voice sounded as sweet as sugar. Cas gently set Sam back down on the bed so that Dean could dress him. The toddler cooperated with his brother perfectly, not fussing or anything as Dean pulled his socks and shoes on. “Hand me a comb, will ya, Cas?” The hunter asked, pointing over to the top of the dresser. Cas retrieved the small blue comb and handed it to his friend. Dean took the comb and began to brush out the bottom of Sam’s hair. Cas stood behind Dean, and stuck his tongue out at the toddler, making Sam giggle as Dean tried to comb his unruly mop of brown curls. “All ready, Sammy,” Dean announced, setting the comb back on top of the darkly stained dresser.   
Dean grabbed Baby’s keys from on top of his desk and turned towards Sam and Cas, “ready to go?” he asked. Sam nodded and smiled up and Cas, who replied with a simple “yes, Dean,” before scooping little Sam back up into his arms. The trio made their way to the impala, Cas slipping into the backseat with Sam in his arms, and Dean, of course, behind the drivers wheel.   
The drive into was short, only about ten minutes from the bunker, and they seemed to have hit all of the green lights. This made Dean breathe a sigh of relief, today had been a long day. But he knew that he needed to get some more supplies for Sam, and groceries too since they were already out and about. Sam ogled at the different passing scenes through the car’s window as Dean drove around looking for a department store of some kind. After a few minutes of just driving up and down streets, Dean found a store that he hoped would have everything they needed. “C’mon,” the hunter said, pulling into the large parking lot of the store. The lot was relatively vacant, even though it was only five o’clock in the afternoon. The town was quiet, but not eerily. The sleepy kind of quiet.   
The store’s fluorescent lights beat down on the trio as they entered through the large sliding doors, Dean with the shopping cart and Cas still carrying Sam; who had refused to be put down. Dean pushes the cart and leads them towards the kids department. The huge volume of brightly colored shirts catch Sam’s attention, and he pulls his face away from the crook of Cas’s neck. Dean turns back to look at his little brother, cradled against Castiel. “You like this one, buddy?” Dean asks, holding up a blue t-shirt with yellow stars. Sam nods his head and smiles, and then uses his small hand to point over to a white shirt with a whale on it, displayed on one of the mannequins. “Dee,” Sam pipes up, trying to get Dean to look at the shirt. The hunter understands and turns to his right to pick the shirt up off of the sales shelf. He puts the two shirts down into the cart, and grabs another pair of soft cotton shorts; this pair was black instead of blue like the first pair he bought little Sam the other day at the local Target. Meanwhile, Cas brings Sam over to look at a bin of assorted items. It’s full of winter clothes; even though it’s only fall, and some small toys, like action figures and stuffed animals. Sam waves his arms in excitement and looks up and Cas, giggling.   
Dean is browsing through the rest of the t-shirts and other clothing items when he hears Cas call for him, “Dean!” Instinctively, Dean turns around in a flash; except instead of peril, he finds the cutest scene. The ex angel is pulling a bee-themed hat onto little Sam’s head. Black and yellow lines stretch across Sam’s forehead, small bee-wings are embroidered on the front in neat white stitching. Dean breathes out a heavy sigh of relief, and the edges of his mouth curve up into a slight smile. “Again with the bees, Cas?” The hunter jokes, pushing the cart over towards the assortment bin. “Bees!” Sam babbles, pulling at the soft edge of his hat. Dean rolls his eyes, but can’t help from grinning ear to ear. Cas smiles softly back and hugs Sam close to him. “Let’s go pick up a car seat, okay? Baby isn’t necessarily child friendly anymore.” Dean suggests, extending his arms in offer to hold his brother. Cas lifts Sam off of his chest and hands him over to Dean, “Dee,” Sam coos softly, reaching up to tug on a piece of Dean’s hair. “Hey little man,” Dean says, wrapping Sam up in his flannel clad arms. “This way, I think,” the hunter suggests, turning back to Cas so that he knows where to follow him too in the labyrinth of aisles.   
Dean wandered up and down a few aisles of baby and kids furniture, past the cribs and swings before finally finding the car seat section. Cas followed behind closely, only running over the back of Dean’s heel a few times. But Dean didn’t say anything about it since it was the first time Cas had ever even pushed a shopping cart. All part of learning to be human, he guessed.   
“This one looks like it’ll work,” Dean announces, his voice unsure. He’s standing in front of one of the many car seats all ready assembled and on display. It was black and grey, it looked safe enough. “Well, your brother is quite a small child,” Cas reassures him, as he goes to reach for one of the boxes underneath the pre-assembled seat. Cas pushes the box onto the wire rack at the bottom of the plastic cart.   
“Let’s put that hat in the cart, kiddo,” Dean suggests, gently pulling of Sam’s bee hat. “Okay,” Sam says quietly, nuzzling his cheek against his brothers’ shoulder. Dean hugs his brother, “C’mon, let’s go check out.”   
The three of them head towards the cash registers and are able to check out of the store easily enough. Dean had handed Sam back to Cas so that he could pay for all of their items with his stolen credit card. He pushed the cart back into the lot while Cas led the way back to Baby. Dean pulls the backseat door open for the former angel, “there you go Sam,” Cas said, setting the toddler down in the Impala’s back seat. “I’ll get this thing together when we get back to the bunker,” Dean announces, trying to shove the boxed car seat into Baby’s trunk. Cas pulls the two bags of toddler clothes out of the blue shopping cart and sets them in the back seat along with Sam. He ducks in and takes his seat in the car, buckling his seat belt before pulling Sam up into his lap. Meekly, Cas pulls the bee hat out of one of the plastic bags. “Daddy, bees!” Sam says, reaching up at the hat with his pudgy fingers. Cas pulls the hat down onto Sam’s head and the toddler beams up at him in delight. By the time that the two of them are situated, Dean has finally managed to shove the car seat box into the trunk, nestled tightly against their shotguns, spray paint, rock salt bullets, and other weapons. The driver’s door opens with a soft click and Dean slides in behind the wheel. “Half way done,” Dean says, turning around to look at Cas and his brother. “You like your new clothes, Sammy?” He asks, noticing the bee hat. Sam lifts his head up from against Cas’s sturdy arm, and nods yes, smiling wide over at his brother. “Good,” Dean whispers softly, leaning over patting the fuzzy top of the yellow and black cap. Cas looks down at the child in front of him, and smiles too. This new human life isn’t so bad after all.   
“So, grocery store now,” Dean continues, putting the keys into Baby’s ignition. The engine comes to life and rumbles beneath them, the gentle humming seems to soothe Sam, who turns back around to face Castiel, and relaxes against the ex angels warm tummy. “What do you want for dinner, Cas?” Dean questioned, eyes glued to the rear-view mirror as he backed out of their parking space. Cas looks up from Sam and over to the back of Dean’s head. “Anything you want, Dean.” Cas offers with a shrug of his shoulders. He’s preoccupied with sticking his tongue out at a giggling Sam. Dean laughs, a toothy grin spreading across his face as he pulls the car back onto the main road. “Burgers and pie it is then.”


	6. Chapter 6

The trip to the grocery store goes rather smoothly as a matter of fact. Sam was never a fussy child and he still isn’t now. He’s almost perfectly happy. Except for when Dean tried to get Cas to set the toddler down into the seat of the shopping cart. Sammy’s bottom lip quivered and his eyes squinted but Dean scooped him up and handed him back to Castiel before he could cry. Cas seemed a little puzzled when Dean handed Sam back to him, but he didn’t seem to mind holding him one bit. He may be human now, but he was still strong. Carrying around a little toddler really didn’t faze him much. Cas ogled at how vast the stores isles were. When he had been an angel, he never had appreciated food, and now he was learning to actually enjoy it.   
Dean had pushed the cart as Cas and Sam trailed closely behind them. Sam was alert and vibrant, pointing and babbling at people as they passed through the store. Cas paid close attention to all of Sam’s jumbled up words like, “pretty”, “blue”, and “funny”. The ex angel would smile at every word, keeping a comforting hold around Sam’s small body.   
“He really likes you, huh?” Dean jokes as he set a carton of milk down into the shopping cart.   
“I believe Sam still thinks that I am your father,” Cas replies in a serious tone, which he only breaks to reply to one of Sam’s coos with an enthusiastic “yeah!”   
“Yeah, I guess so,” Dean half laughs. “You think that maybe he’ll just, you know, turn back to normal?” the hunter suggests.   
Castiel shrugs his shoulders a little bit. “If I had my grace…” he begins solemnly, but Dean cuts him off. “It’s okay Cas, it isn’t your fault.” Dean looks up from the groceries and right at his friend. “We’ll figure this out eventually, all of it.” Then he pauses, “your grace too.”   
Cas presses his lips together and gently nods his head, “okay,” he says softly. “Daddy,” Sam mumbled, reaching up at a piece of Castiel’s dark hair.   
“Hello Sam,” he cooed sweetly, smiling down at the toddler in his arms.   
“Thank you, honestly. For helping out and being so good with him,” Dean states, his eyes softly trailing their gaze all over his friend’s face.   
“Oh course,” Cas starts, “I am your and Sam’s guardian. But I have made mistakes, although I’d like to think that you’ve forgiven me for them, I am still indebted to you. And for taking me in after I fell to Earth.”   
Dean feels his breath hitch in the back of his throat for a moment when Cas brings up his fall into mortality, “but that was only after-“ he began,   
“Dean,” Cas cut him off. “It’s okay.”   
There was this warm look in Cas’s blue as ice eyes, like he was laying a comforting hand on Dean’s shoulder without actually touching him. Like they were saying, “you will be okay,” without having to verbalize anything.   
Dean felt his face flush a little bit, and in his head he mentally shamed himself for half blushing in a supermarket, of all places.   
“C-can I walk, Daddy?” Sam babbles, nestling his head into the worn-in material of Cas’s shirt.   
“Of course Sam,” Cas says as he sets the small toddler down. “There you go.”  
Sam smiles up at Castiel and then looks over at Dean.   
“Hi Dee!” Sam giggles, waving his pudgy fist up at his brother like he was trying to wave.   
“Heya Sammy,” Dean chirps, a little grin slyly finding its way onto his face. Sam grabs a hold of the denim of Cas’s pant leg and looks up at the ex-angel for reassurance.   
“Would you like to keep shopping, Sam?” Cas asks. Sam nods his head, shaking a few pieces of hair out of his eyes that had fallen out from underneath his bee hat.   
Dean walks them through another couple aisles, Sam stays patient and doesn’t try to run off. Instead he continues to gently tug at Cas’s leg.   
When they get to the freezer cases, Dean stops them. “Do you like ice cream with your pie, Cas?” The hunter inquires, his eyes fixed on the cartons that line the shelves before him.   
“What?” Sam asks, his sweet voice pulling at both Castiel and Dean’s attention. Cas bends down and pulls little Sam back up and into his arms.   
“Dean would like to know if you want ice cream tonight with your pie,” Cas explained as he watched Sam’s eyes go big.   
“Yeah!” Sam exclaims before Cas can even finish the sentence. Sam smiles widely, his gums exposed, small baby teeth on display.   
Dean chuckles, “Sure thing then, buddy.” He reaches out and grabs a case of vanilla ice cream, setting it in between the rest of the carts contents.   
“I think that’s all that we need for right now,” Dean sighs with relief, he hated going to grocery stores, always felt like everyone’s eyes were on him.   
“This should last us about a week,” he added, “now that Sam doesn’t eat like three grown men.”   
Cas smiles at the joke and Sam makes a scrunched up funny face.   
“Are you ready to go home, Sam?” Cas asks, bouncing the child on his side. Sam nods, his mop of brown curls falling back into his face. Cas chuckles softly to himself and gently brushes the hair back out of Sam’s eyes. “Better?” the ex angel asks.   
“Yeah,” Sam mumbles, leaning his head onto Cas’s shoulder. Castiel shifts Sam over from his side and onto his chest, holding his friends small body closely.   
Dean led the three of them up to the register. It wasn’t too busy at the grocery store, but there hadn’t been a line that was completely empty. In front of them was a lady who was buying multiple packs of yogurt. She smiled at Sam sweetly when the toddler turned his head away from Castiel’s chest to look around.   
“He’s precious,” she commented, her eyes flickering up from Sam and back and forth between Dean and Cas. Cas felt his face get a little flushed and Dean swooped in to save the awkward social situation, par usual. Cas was still trying to get down all these new human things anyways.   
“Thank you,” Dean replied graciously, returning the woman’s smile just before she turned to put her wallet back into her tan colored purse.   
“Bye!” she whispered loudly, making a small waving gesture at Sam, who giggled at her. Cas rubbed Sam’s back slowly, smiling down at his de-aged friend. The cashier rings up their groceries pretty fast. Cas makes sure to say “thank you,” before him and Dean pull away from the register.   
“You’re getting better at this, Cas,” Dean comments as he begins to load up the passenger’s side of the front seat with their half dozen grocery bags. Cas nods slightly, allowing himself to take the compliment.   
“Thank you, Dean. That does mean quite a lot,” Cas breathes out as he slides himself and Sam into the backseat of the Impala.   
“No problem,” Dean adds as he settles himself behind the steering wheel, all of the groceries loaded up next to him.   
“Daddy?” Sam spoke up, crawling from his spot right nudged up against Castiel’s thigh and into his lap. “We go home now?” the toddler asks, his large brown eyes looking up into Cas’s blue ones.   
“Yes Sam,” Cas says, patting the top of Sam’s adorable bee themed hat. “We are going home now, back to the bunker.”   
Dean smiles when he hears the conversation, and Cas catches a glimpse of the hunters grin in the rear-view mirror before he begins.   
“I wonder if Sam would’ve turned out differently if we had two parents growing up,” Dean comments, the words seem like they’re slipping out of his mouth before he can really consider what he is saying.   
“Isn’t it already quite widely accepted for two men to raise a child?” Cas replies, his eyes fixing on the reflection of Dean’s green ones in the rear view mirror. Dean’s face flushes instantly when he realizes that Cas interpreted his remark in a little different way than he had originally implied.   
“I meant like, if both our folks were around, did normal stuff with us. But yeah, I guess so. I mean, we’ve been doing pretty normal parent and kid stuff with him. Dad never took us to the park or anything. We never all sat down for meals together.” Dean’s voice came out a little pained, and Castiel could feel the sense of longing behind his friend’s words.   
“I think that we have been doing a very nice job. Your human family customs are rather enjoyable.” Cas says with the goofy grin, in hopes of getting Dean to cheer up. For the moment, Dean is very glad that Sam is little and can’t hear him and Cas having a sentimental conversation.   
“It’s kinda weird, but I almost wish that Sam could stay little, you know? Cause then he’d have a fresh start at life and everything. But growing up is hard, man. It really sucks being human sometimes,” Dean concludes with a shrug.   
“Daddy look!” Sam interrupts the two normal sized men’s conversation as he climbs over Cas’s thighs in order to place his tiny hands up upon the window. His face is so close to the glass that his little nose is almost pressed up against it. “Dog, dog!” Sam cheers, as a couple with a large golden retriever pass the Impala, which is currently stopped at a red light. Cas smiles as he wraps an arm around Sam’s torso to hold him steady.   
Dean half laughs, half sighs from the front seat. “He always wanted a dog,” the hunter tells Cas. Cas cocks his head and scrunches up his nose at the newly shared information about the youngest Winchester brother.   
“I assume you never could get a dog because of your life on the road?” The ex-angel speaks up, fishing for an answer. Dean drums the pads of his fingers on the steering wheel as they pull away from the intersection.   
“Doggie!” Sam continues to whisper, face squishing up against the cold glass of the Impala’s window.   
“Yeah,” Dean starts. “Dad never liked them, and there’s no way I’m letting a dog into Baby. Gotta keep her clean, you know?” Dean explains, turning them onto the road that eventually led back to the bunker. Sam had settled down and pulled himself away from the window. Instead, he was now resting outstretched on the backseat, his head nudged up against the top of Castiel’s thigh, his small hands underneath his head.   
“What if we used another car? Aren’t there a lot of them in the bunkers garage?” Cas suggests, shrugging his shoulders. Dean laughs heartily at the proposition, “yeah, maybe, Cas.”  
The ex angel nods in an affirming manner, like he has just accomplished an important task.   
“Correct me if I have been misinformed, but don’t families get pets?” Cas eludes, putting further suggestion into Dean’s mind. Except the short prompt does a little bit more than that for Dean.   
“We really are a family then,” he whispers low, his words almost sounding like they have been choked out of his throat. He knew that Cas and Sam were his family. A no holes, supportive family. There was no hiding it; it hit a soft spot deep inside of Dean’s chest. Cas figured that it would probably be better to not continue on the conversation, and soon they pulled up at the bunker.   
Dean let Cas and Sam out at the front entrance before continuing to drive, heading around to the back of the bunker in order to park Baby in the garage. Cas was sitting the big green chair, Sam settled patiently in his lap. Cas’s arms were encircled around the small toddler, his hands holding open The Great Gatsby.   
“Well don’t you two look cozy?” Dean hollered from the kitchen, arms full of grocery bags. Cas turned his head at the sound of Dean’s voice but didn’t verbally reply. He just smiled at the hunter and then returned his gaze back onto the book. Sam reached his pudgy hands towards the book and stroked the thin page that Cas had been reading, when Dean made his way into the living room.   
“I’ll make dinner, tonight. I’ll call you two when it’s ready,” Dean instructs with a grin. “Make sure to wash up before, especially you Sammy,” Dean makes a point and jokingly shakes his finger at his very little, little brother. The day had been a long one. A couple hours at the park and then shopping had made them all pretty tired. Sam seemed to be hanging in there though, with the addition of his midafternoon nap. Sam nodded dramatically, moving his head up and down. Cas smiles softly at the hunter, glancing over at him again. “Okay, Dean” he whispers. 

Dinner’s done in an hour. Well, not really totally done but the burgers were. The pie had just been put into the oven. As much as Dean loved pie, he had never really figured out how to make it just right until he and Sam found the bunker. With an actual counter, Dean could go grocery shopping instead of living off of the snacks that could easily be picked up from gas stations.   
The second night in the bunker, when Sam was fast asleep, Dean had made a secret trip to the local grocery store and picked up all of the ingredients for apple pie; his favorite.   
The night had resulted in Dean being covered and flour (along with about half the kitchen too). But in the end, Dean had managed to make a pie. And while it was slightly overcooked, and pretty ugly in his opinion because he hadn’t been able to get the lattice top just right. Nonetheless though, it had tasted pretty good.   
Dean set the table as Cas shuffled Sam off to the bathroom to get washed up for their meal. Dean placed the last of the utensils in their designated spots on the placemats before something caught his eyes. It was Cas’s book, sitting solitarily on the arm of the big green chair. The book had been left opened, as Cas hadn’t bothered to dog ear the page before he got up to help Sam wash his hands as soon as Dean had reminded the ex-angel.   
The words were facing down against the chair, the bright blue book cover staring up at Dean. He dog eared the page for Cas and closed the book, setting it nicely on the seat cushion of the chair. Dean patted the cover gently before returning to the kitchen to retrieve the burgers and to check on the pie.   
The pie seemed to be coming along nicely, and Dean suspected that it would be done a little after they had finished up their dinner. It wouldn’t be so bad to eat in pajamas, he thought to himself. When he walked back into the great room that held their dinning table, he found Cas and Sam already sitting in their spots. Cas across the table from Sam, who had been boosted up by a short stack of books. Sam was using old spell books for a booster seat; it made Dean chuckle a bit to himself as he set the food down on the table.   
“I hungry, Dee,” Sam said, reaching his hands out towards his brother.   
“Yeah buddy, I know. I’ll get you your food real’ quick,” Dean explained, setting a burger onto Cas’s plate, and then his own. Sam nodded, “Okay Dee.”   
Dean set a burger onto Sam’s plate too, but instead of just leaving it, he cut it up into smaller, manageable pieces. It felt a little sacrilege to be cutting a burger up into more than two pieces, but he’d really prefer not letting his little brother choke, or drop his food all over his lap.   
They all eat quietly together, Dean occasionally stopping so that he can help Sam get the food onto his fork. Cas smiles each and every time, and Dean feels his chest tighten when he realizes that Cas is proud of him. The timer on the oven dings right as Cas finishes up his plate; he’s the slowest eater out of all of them, which is surprising because you’d think that he would want to catch up on all the food that he had ‘missed’.   
“That’s the pie,” Dean announces, standing up from his seat at the table. Sam grins his gummy little smile up at his big brother. Dean reaches down and pats Sam on the head gently, then repositions the bee hat so that it sits straight across Sammy’s forehead.   
“You two go get your pajamas on,” Dean says, using his hand to motion towards the corridor of bedrooms. “I’ll get the pie out and let it cool,” the hunter adds before turning to head back into their kitchen.   
Cas gets up and walks around the table to pick Sam up out of his seat atop the spell books. “Daddy!” Sam exclaims as Cas hoists him up into the air, cradling the now yawning toddler against his chest. Sam wraps his short arms around Cas’s neck, pulling at ex-angels (borrowed) shirt collar. Cas bounces Sam once, then again, settling his friend before walking them back into Dean’s room to get themselves ready for bed.   
When Dean finally emerged from the warm kitchen, Sam and Cas were already curled up on the couch in the living room, just opposite the dining room. Sam was dressed in his batman pajamas, and from the looks of it, Cas had raided Dean’s wardrobe yet again. The ex angel had adorned soft grey sweatpants, that were a little too long as they covered his feet entirely. Cas had also slipped on a Van Halen shirt that was grey as well, and a little see through as it was a little worse for wear. Sam’s tucked into Castiel’s side, his hair a little messy from wearing his new bee hat all day. Dean whips out his phone before he says anything or makes his presence known. He snaps a quick picture of his friend and his little brother, smiling to himself. Cas turns his head when he hears the shutter sound effect.   
“Dean?” He asks sleepily, pushing a piece of dark hair out of his eyes. Dean just chuckles at Cas, “gotta be able to show Sam once he’s big again.” Dean walks over to the couch and crouches down so that he’s almost eye level with his brother.   
“Hey Sammy,” he whispers with a smile. Sam’s currently squished himself in close against Cas’s ribs, with his plaid teddy bear wedged in between like a pillow. Sam pulls his hands away from the bear, and rubs his eyes.   
“Dee,” Sam babbles softly, looking up at his brother, his hazel eyes wide.   
“What are you two boys watching?” Dean jokes, his gaze shifting back up to Cas. “It’s something about mermaids,” Cas says sheepishly. Dean looks over at the bright television screen, the history channel is on. It’s one of those fake conspiracy theory documentaries that he secretly loves. The hunter laughs as he stands up, “I’ll go grab dessert,” he suggests, eyes glancing towards Sam, who was practically falling asleep curled up against Cas. Dean moves in to give Cas a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, but his hand ended up closer towards the ex angels collar bone, so Dean quickly pulled his hand away, not wanting to be awkward. But his fingers had fluttered up Cas’s neck and just brushed past the edge of his jaw. “I uh- sorry,” Dean quietly sputters before turning on his heels and speed walking like a grandma on black Friday, back into the kitchen.   
When Dean finally made it back into the kitchen, he threw his hands on the cool metal on one of the countertops. His face felt hot, too hot. He took a few deep breathes, and urged himself to try to not overthink what he had just accidently done. It was just a little slip of the fingers, nothing more, right? It would all be just fine. He’d cut the pie and dish out some ice cream, walk back into the living room and it would be like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.   
With slightly shaky hands, Dean grabbed two bowls from out of the cupboard. Sam could eat a little bit out of his bowl, if his kid brother was even still awake when he got back to the couch. The pie was cooling on the counter next to the oven, it was still warm though. The air in the kitchen was warm, and Dean felt like he was practically breathing in cinnamon.   
He pulled out a knife from one of the drawers and cut both him and Cas ample slices of the apple pie. He was quite proud of it in fact, it was gooey and warm and looked pretty damn awesome. The pulled the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and used a large spoon to dish some out into each of their bowls. Dean grabbed two smaller spoons, and set one in each of the bowls. 

“Here ya go, Cas,” Dean whispers, careful not to wake his now sleeping brother. In the time it had taken Dean to go grab dessert, Sam must have fallen asleep. The toddler was all tuckered out, it had been a long day. Dean held a bowl out to Cas, who gladly took it. “Thank you, Dean,” he replied, his voice hushed. Dean slid into the spot next to Cas, leaving the ex angel sandwiches in between the two Winchester brothers.   
“How’s the show?” Dean asks, his question being mangled slightly by his full mouth. “It does seem to be interesting,” Cas offers, “but quite inaccurate.”   
Dean stifles a laugh at Cas’s seriousness over the topic by shoving another spoonful of pie and ice cream into his mouth. Cas tentatively took his own first bite of dessert and Dean watched his friends face carefully, searching for approval. “Is it good?” Dean asks, before Cas has even had the chance to finish chewing. Cas nods his head enthusiastically, his eyes wide as he looks over at the hunter. When he finally manages to swallow his food, Cas speaks up. “It’s so good Dean,” he compliments, smiling at the hunter. “I understand now,” Cas proclaims quietly, staring down at his bowl of pie and now half-melted ice cream.   
Dean feels himself beaming, proud that his hard work paid off. Cas doesn’t seem as sad anymore, and any time that Dean catches that little glint of happiness in Castiel’s eye, he hopes just a little bit more. Dean settles himself into his spot, tucking his legs up underneath him, sitting cross-legged on the couch, and his left knee knocked against Cas’s right thigh. Cas had engrossed himself in finishing up his dessert, while Dean turns his attention to the obviously fake documentary that they’re watching. He rolls his eyes at the horrible actor portrayal of scientists, thinking to himself that even he and Sam could do a better job. But at least they weren’t watching one of those alien shows, featuring the dude with crazy hair; Sam loved to binge watch those on the odd nights when they didn’t have a case.   
Before Dean realizes it, the documentary is almost over and there’s familiar warmth against his arm. Cas had shifted over just a little bit, it seemed, the ex angel’s side now gently pressed up against Dean. Cas had set his now empty bowl onto the floor by his feet, and Dean put his own dish next to it when he had finished his own slice of pie. The hunter noticed Castiel’s eyes flickering between being completely closed, and being halfway open. Cas yawned a couple of times, but he kept his eyes fixed on the CGI mermaids swimming around on screen. “Maybe you should head to bed, Cas,” Dean whispers, pulling himself away from the back of the couch in order too better look at Cas. “What? Oh yes, maybe,” Cas murmurs, rubbing at one of his bright blue eyes.   
Dean pulls himself up out of the comfort of the couch and scoops up a sleeping Sam into his arms. Groggily, Cas stands up too, making sure to grab Sam’s plaid bear for him.   
“Let’s get the little guy to bed first,” Dean says, his voice barely audible as he was being careful not to wake Sam up. Cas nods his head in agreement, his eyes still fighting to stay open. Dean bends down and turns off the television right as the show’s end credits begin to play. Dean leads them back into his room and tucks Sam into bed. Cas places the plaid bear under the covers next to Sam, who unconsciously rolls over and grabs at the stuffed animal.   
“Off to bed,” he instructs Cas, opting to walk with the ex angel towards his won room. Wordlessly, Cas slips under the white covers of his own bed, pulling the blanket up under his chin.   
“Goodnight, Cas,” Dean starts to say, reaching over to turn out the nightstand light.   
“Dean?” Cas interjects before the hunter could finish. Dean’s brows knit together in confusion for a moment, “yeah, Cas?” he responds.   
“Stay?” Cas asks, reaching one arm up at Dean, pulling at the hem of the hunter’s plaid shirt. “Cas, you’re just tired. And somebody’s gotta watch Sam…” Dean trails off, his eyes roaming all over Cas’s covered figure. But even in the dimly lit room, Dean can still make out the piercing blue of Castiel’s eyes.   
“He’s fine,” Cas says with a reassuring whisper. Dean rolls his eyes, but gives in. It wouldn’t do any harm. Sam was already asleep anyways. With a huff, Dean kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed, still wearing his jeans and flannel but he was comfortable nonetheless. Cas was settled on his side, facing towards Dean, who was laid out on his back after reaching over to turn out the bedside light. The room was consumed in blackness, and Cas’s breathing even. “Goodnight angel,” Dean whispered so quietly he wasn’t sure if he had actually said it or not. Cas stirred for a moment, but his eyes remained closed. Soon enough, Dean’s eyes shut and he too found sleep.


End file.
